‘It was a very full life’: Cyril Wecht recalls legacy in previous extended interview with Channel 11

Channel 11 Chief Investigator Rick Earle has interviewed Cyril Wecht, a world-renowned forensic pathologist who died Monday, numerous times over the last three decades.

>>> Former Allegheny County coroner, world-renowned pathologist Cyril Wecht dies at 93

Several years ago, Earle sat down with Wecht for an extended interview.

“It was a very full life,” Wecht said.

Dr. Cyril Wecht, in his own words, on his life and legacy and greatest professional accomplishment.

PHOTOS: Cyril Wecht, through the years

He says debunking the Warren Commission’s one-bullet theory in the assassination of JFK is the biggest and most memorable of his illustrious career.

“My opinion is there were definitely two shooters,” Wecht said, who was well known for the colorful language that he used behind the scenes. But when he was on TV or in public he was always eloquent and cerebral.

Wecht, who served as Allegheny County Coroner for two decades, was involved in some of the most high-profile cases in the country.

During that extended interview, he rattled off a few of the names.

“Dr. Martin Luther King, Elvis Presley, JonBenet Ramsey, O.J. Simpson, Kurt Cobain,” Wecht said, just to name a few of the cases.

During his career he performed tens of thousands of autopsies, and case reviews.

>>> Allegheny County officials remember Cyril Wecht

“Cyril is definitely one of those people that helped define the whole city of Pittsburgh with his work ethic, his accomplishments, just a legend,” said Jerry McDevitt, who represented Wecht during a federal criminal trial.

Wecht had been accused of using his office of Coroner for personal gain. Wecht maintained it was a politically motivated prosecution.

The jury returned with a hung verdict and the case was eventually dismissed.

“They realized the man doesn’t deserve the way the federal government was treating him,” McDevitt said, who recalled that Wecht responded to every letter sent to him.

McDevitt relayed the story about a young woman who reached out to Wecht because she wanted to become a forensic pathologist. Wecht responded to her and she ultimately reached her goal of becoming a forensic pathologist.

Earle also spoke with Tim Uhrich, the former solicitor for the Allegheny County Coroner’s Office.

He worked for Wecht for years and has known him for 42 years.

Uhrich said what he remembers most about Wecht is something the public didn’t see.

“It’s certainly a sad day for everyone that has known and loved Dr. Wecht. I think if there’s anything that I recall, it was about him was that was his absolute devotion and his loyalty and his love for his family,” Uhrich said.

When Earle spoke with Dr. Wecht several years ago about his new book detailing his life and legacy, he was still working a full schedule, doing autopsies and reviewing cases.

Earle asked Wecht how long he planned to keep it up.

“How long, that’s a good question, Rick. I don’t know. I don’t know what else I would do,” Wecht said.

Wecht is survived by his wife and four grown children. Two of his children are now medical doctors and another is a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice.

The family is planning a private funeral and burial service but said there will be a public memorial service in the near future.

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