I know this was not addressed to me, and I'm sorry for interjecting, but here it is (BBM):
Thanks for looking this up, Olivia; sorry, Ive been out of the area.
Guess at this stage, the sense of Rorke is whatever anyone chooses to believe but Ive a couple of additional thoughts to add.
Rorke -
I also have delved into Rorkes background, and, as with all experts, she wasnt correct all the time, though it seems to me she was usually more right than wrong in the majority of the cases in which she testified, at least according to the courts. She did once before this retirement interview mention the JB case; and it appeared to me as though it was a source of satisfaction to her to reveal she worked on the medical aspect of this case.
Kolar and his writing -
Imo, Kolar wrote his book for the average reader, not for
websleuthers interested in medical specifics such as how Rorke could have determined whether
JonBenet's brain had swollen through the foramen magnum. We will never know for sure because it hasnt been shared whether Rorke only saw photos and histology slides, or if she performed an actual brain autopsy. I happen to believe that at a minimum she did view photos and slides because of the reference to cellular necrosis. (I do know through otg and elsewhere that fixative technique is critical, and Ive no idea who dissected the brain in specific areas and performed the application of fixative to the brain tissue.)
There is no reason for Rorke to have known Kolar. Kolar came on the case after Tom Bennetts exit in 2005. Rorke provided her testimony during the GJ of 98/99.
Leaks and confidentiality agreements
Long way around the barn in explanation, but let me first mention that PMPT reveals the names of the sexual abuse experts and nowhere else is the information more detailed than in the Bonita Papers in which McCann specifies the details of prior abuse. The Bonita Papers were a major reveal and unfortunately discredited by many because of the manner in which the information was stolen. This leads me to mention BrotherMoons emails because, imo, it illustrates something else.
Rorkes reply to BrotherMoon was:
I have no idea who James Kolar is nor have I seen his book in which he mentions my involvement in the Jan Benet Ramsey postmortem examination. Hence I cannot answer your question re brain swelling and herniation as it did/did not apply to that case. As far as her statement of as it did/did not apply to that case, the slash is most commonly used as the word substitute for "or" which indicates a choice (often mutually-exclusive) is present. (Examples: Male/Female, Y/N, He/She, etc.) The slash means it did OR did not apply.
I read that email transmission as unequivocal in her firm statement that she is not going to reveal any information, not that she doesnt have information. She is not going to respond. There is another explanation for why she replied in that manner, beyond GJ secrecy, and that is that confidentiality agreements had been signed between the authorities and some of the experts. (If you read Dr. Lees book
Cracking More Cases, youll note he uses fictitious names for everyone he mentions. Without a doubt they had him sign a confidentiality agreement.)
Necrotic cellular occurence
Necrosis is a buzz word in TBI, kinda like cholesterol in heart disease. One of the words mentioned in FF regarding her injuries is necrosis, and I believe some/many people dont consider what it means. Im confident there are a number of us who already know about necrosis, but for anyone else Ill mention that cellular necrosis is studied in all traumatic brain injuries if an autopsy is mandated, and the degree of necrosis is determined by a review of tissue slides.
TBI is a big research subject for medical scientists as its one of the biggest causes of death in young people. Of primary importance is learning how best to treat TBI, controlling the effects of the cascade of cellular events which lead to necrosis (causing brain damage and death.) Couple of articles on necrosis:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3311037/
http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/content/99/1/4.full
There are many questions one could raise about the head injury and the analysis of it. And its obviously of interest to wonder exactly when Rorke was hired to provide her analysis. Great question and I wish I knew the answer. I fully appreciate that whatever opinions we hold on the brain injury, we just arrive at the same train station of more questions than answers.