Ben Margolis wants a new grand jury to be convened.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: With the details surrounding the death of Pravin Varughese in Carbondale, Illinois, still viewed by many as murder, the Office of the State’s Attorney has released official statements to the public describing what they believe to be the cause of death — namely, “environmental hypothermia.”
As previously covered by The American Bazaar, the Varughese family has accused Carbondale police of trying to cover up the true cause of Pravin’s death, which a second autopsy — initiated by the Varughese family and performed by an outside pathologist — found evidence of.
While the first examiner claimed that there were no injuries on the body and that Pravin had hypothermia, the second autopsy found there were three major injuries to his head from blunt trauma, and his eye was badly damaged, and he looked to have tried some sort of defensive maneuver.
However, according to a release from State’s Attorney Michael C. Carr, a grand jury that was assembled in secret found that blunt force trauma was not the cause of death,” and there was “no evidence that there was a fracture to the skull, bleeding in the brain or any brain damage.”
Consequently, Gaege Bethune, the prime suspect in Pravin’s alleged murder, will remain free and clear of any wrongdoing in the eyes of the law.
Ben Margolis — director of the Autopsy Center of Chicago, where the second examination was conducted — released a statement on Saturday recommending a new grand jury be convened under alternative supervision, describing the State’s Attorney as unprofessional, selective, discriminatory, unethical, and biased.
He later released a second statement apologizing “language that was too strong” for what he intended.
According to Pravin’s mother, Lovely Varuguese, the family will now be forced to take their search for justice to the next level, and are currently in the process of reaching out to Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner in an effort to have State’s Attorney Michael C. Carr formally investigated.
1 Comment
This was a homicide unless ruled otherwise. The cause of death was the blunt trauma and the contributing factor was environmental hypothermia or hypothermia. Forensic science cannot be duped or covered up for too long. The secret Grand Jury is akin to having no Grand Jury. The DA is getting deeper and deeper into the cover up, so much so, he is unfit to hold that office and he has serious unethical conflict of interest, bordering on criminal conduct. If not for the second autopsy, the coverup would have been buried along with the victim. Truth and fact should sustain and anything else is fiction and cover up. I agree with the forensic man who had the courage to stand up to the DA. This case should be reopened and justice served.