I took some quick notes while listening to Dr Wecht's radio interview, in particular to death pre-hanging. Am paraphrasing, but what I understood is there was substantial damage to the hyoid - basically broken. Extensive hemorrhaging in the neck muscles. Both would be present in manual strangulation. Dr Wecht noted all "force" (can't read my notes ..lol) in the front, NONE in the rear. Thus, and he emphases this several times, he CANNOT rule out strangulation. He is not saying it is but he cannot rule it out.
Thank you to whomever posted the link to the WS Radio interview with Cyril Wecht and Cynic. That was a very interesting discussion, especially now that time has elapsed.
One thing I want to comment on about the use of the term "strangulation." There seems to be an assumption that strangulation in this case could have been strangulation until asystole/ certain and unrecoverable death. Strangulation doesn't always mean "strangled to DEATH."
To a person with a medical background, that isn't necessarily the way the term is meant. It may be intended to mean strangulation until irrecoverable asystole. However, it can also imply "
partial" strangulation. Meaning, someone experienced an act of strangulation, but did not die. That is an important distinction in Rebecca's case, IMO.
The medical literature contains many studies of individuals, and population outcome studies of what is probably more clearly called "partial" strangulation. Accident scenarios dominate these articles, such as children becoming entwined in electrical cords, but found in time to save their lives. As might be expected, some survived relatively neurologically intact, while others lived, but were neurologically devastated/ persistent vegetative state. Some had cartilaginous and/ or hyoid fracture injury, others had only compressive injury.
There are also forensic cases of "failed" manual (hands) strangulation, where the killer went on to another method to ensure death (smothering, GSW, etc.). There are cases described where victims survived a murder attempt by strangulation. (Manual strangulation, using hands only, btw, is not really as easy as some might envision, when the victim is a conscious adult, not drugged or intoxicated, or restrained.)
Dr. Wecht's comments about the cartilage damage being confined to the anterior neck structures, with no ligament or soft tissue damage posteriorly, is one aspect of this case that has yet to be adequately explained.
I think it is entirely possible that Rebecca was semi conscious, stunned, or briefly unconscious when she went over the railing. We know with certainty that she had no drugs or intoxicants in her system. It is possible that she was hit on the head 4 times, and also experienced "partial" strangulation before going over the railing. Whether this was because the killer was impatient, or unable to accomplish the murder with those methods, or perhaps the killer intended to use head blows an partial strangulation preceding the hanging, is not clear.
If that happened, only the killer could answer why. Was it torture, or was the killer unable to complete the hanging without rendering Rebecca more "compliant" and easy to handle? Or did the situation start out planned as something else, and spiraled out of control? Was it pure rage on the part of the killer, with no forethought to the head blows and/ or partial strangulation?
I think the autopsy demonstrates she was alive when the neck muscles were torn. I think that happened during the long drop. I also strongly feel that efforts were made to help Rebecca be more compliant with the hanging. Head blows, and partial strangulation have long been a component of what I envision happened as Rebecca was murdered.
Verbal and physical torture, followed by the long drop murder hanging, is what I think happened. What bothers me most, is that I think Rebecca
knew her killers intended to kill her. I think Rebecca knew she was going to be killed, and hung out nude and bound for the world to see. I believe she was mocked, taunted, and tortured by her killers before they murdered her. JMO, IMO, mooooooo