Charles Victor Wetli (August 27, 1943 – July 28, 2020) was an American forensic pathologist. He is best remembered for identifying all of the victims of the Trans World Airlines Flight 800 crash in 1996 as the

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populatio ...

medical examiner The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology that investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictio ...

. Though he faced considerable criticism from contemporaries for his handling of the investigation into the crash, he was later praised for his ability to identify every victim's body. According to Christine Negroni, Wetli "...should be remembered as a pioneering forensic physician who assembled an array of dentists, X-ray technicians, pathologists and tiny samples of DNA to put a name on every bit of human remains recovered." He is also noted for proposing the controversial concept of "

excited delirium Excited delirium (ExDS), also known as agitated delirium (AgDS), is a controversial diagnosis sometimes characterized as a potentially fatal state of extreme agitation and delirium. It is typically diagnosed postmortem in young adult males, dispr ...

" in a 1985 paper that he co-authored describing seven sudden deaths among female black sex workers who had recently used

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. He claimed that the deaths could not have been due to

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

, though they were subsequently found to be victims of a serial killer, and the scientific validity of the concept of excited delirium is generally rejected.

Personal life

Wetli was born in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

on August 27, 1943. He graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

with a

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

degree in 1965 before receiving his

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

from the

Saint Louis University School of Medicine Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a private, Jesuit medical school. Part of Saint Louis University, the institution was established in 1836. The school has an enrollment of around 700, with about 550 faculty members and 550 residents in ...

in 1969. He then completed a

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

before serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1973 to 1976, where he was the chief of pathology at the United States Army Medical Laboratory Pacific. He worked in

Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

for seventeen years, eventually becoming the deputy chief medical examiner there, before moving to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1995. He continued to work in New York until his retirement in 2006. He died on July 28, 2020, at a hospital in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, due to complications from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. He was survived by his second wife, Geetha (Luke Poonthottam) Natarajan, whom he married in 1995, as well as by his two daughters, two sons, and seven grandchildren.

References

1943 births 2020 deaths Deaths from lung cancer People from Green Bay, Wisconsin Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumni Saint Louis University alumni American forensic pathologists Medical examiners {{US-med-bio-stub