Okla-homey
8/29/2006, 06:16 AM
August 29, 1965: A twisted scheme by a murderous doctor leaves an unsuspecting wife dead
Slow history day folks -- lot of stuff out there about today being the one-year anniversary of Katrina slamming NOLA, but like most of us, frankly I'm sick of hearing about it. This is kinda bizarre though and perhaps interesting.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6418/www111848200mub8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Dr. Carl Coppolino, a "gas passer" who thought he was too smart to get busted for killing folks he needed dead.
41 years ago today, Carmela Coppolino is found dead by her husband, Carl, at their home in Longboat Key, Florida. The Coppolinos, who were both physicians, had recently moved from New Jersey. Soon after, Carl, 34, was forced to retire for health reasons he claimed.
The Naples FL medical examiner who examined Carmela's body told Carl that given his young wife had recently suffered chest pains, he declared the cause of death heart failure. No autopsy was performed.
Meanwhile, back in New Jersey, when Carl married wealthy Mary Gibson less than two months after Carmela's untimely death, it so distressed NJ widow Marjorie Farber that she went to authorities with a remarkable tale.
Apparently, Marjorie Farber and her husband, William, had been neighbors of the Coppolinos in New Jersey two years earlier. Farber claimed that she had had an affair with Carl Coppolino and that the two had plotted her husband's death.
According to Farber, Dr. Carl Coppolino gave Marjorie a syringe with which to inject her sleeping husband. Marjorie was unable to carry out the dirty deed -- she prolly should have contacted AC/DC who do "dirty deeds dirt cheap," but I digress.
Instead, Marjorie alleged, Carl Coppolino strangled Marjorie's husband William Farber. Carl's unsuspecting wife Dr. Carmela Coppilino then signed the death certificate, declaring William Farber's death a heart attack.
This new information led law enforcement officials in New Jersey and Florida to exhume the bodies of both Carmela Coppolino and William Farber. Carl was brought back to New Jersey to face trial. Despite Marjorie's testimony, both conflicting medical evidence and the theatrical performance of defense attorney F. Lee Bailey led the jury to acquit Carl in this trial in the murder of William Farber.
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5876/wwwwwuntitledak5.png (http://imageshack.us)
F. Lee Bailey. He used to be the "go-to" guy if you had big bucks and were charged with a serious crime. Remember, under our system, his job was to ensure the defendant's rights were not violated and to ensure the prosecution could prove each and every element of the crime "beyond a reasonable doubt." If the prosecution can't, the defendant walks. One of my law perfessors told us an oft repeated little ditty: if the law is on your side, then holler about the law. If the facts are on your side, then holler about the facts. If neither the law nor the facts are on your side, just holler and beat on the table a lot.:D
Despite Dr Evile's acquittal in NJ, Carl was still scheduled to stand trial in Florida for the murder of his wife Carmela.
At first, medical examiners did not find any evidence of foul play with Carmela's body. But, after considering that Carl had been an anesthesiologist, they posited that he might have used the virtually untraceable succinylcholine chloride to cause muscle paralysis and heart failure.
Succinylcholine chloride is normally administered as an adjunct to general anesthesia, to facilitate tracheal intubation, and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery. Obviously, too much will kill.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7414/wwwcur2hd8.gif (http://imageshack.us)
Wanna make some at home?;)
It took doctors six months to develop a test that could trace this substance in Carmela's body. Ultimately, the test proved their theory, and Coppolino was convicted in Naples, Florida, in April 1967. He served 12 years before being paroled in 1979.
I don't know what he's doing now or even if he's still alive, but I bet he ain't practicing anesthesiology anymore.
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/875/insane7zoit6.jpg
Slow history day folks -- lot of stuff out there about today being the one-year anniversary of Katrina slamming NOLA, but like most of us, frankly I'm sick of hearing about it. This is kinda bizarre though and perhaps interesting.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6418/www111848200mub8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Dr. Carl Coppolino, a "gas passer" who thought he was too smart to get busted for killing folks he needed dead.
41 years ago today, Carmela Coppolino is found dead by her husband, Carl, at their home in Longboat Key, Florida. The Coppolinos, who were both physicians, had recently moved from New Jersey. Soon after, Carl, 34, was forced to retire for health reasons he claimed.
The Naples FL medical examiner who examined Carmela's body told Carl that given his young wife had recently suffered chest pains, he declared the cause of death heart failure. No autopsy was performed.
Meanwhile, back in New Jersey, when Carl married wealthy Mary Gibson less than two months after Carmela's untimely death, it so distressed NJ widow Marjorie Farber that she went to authorities with a remarkable tale.
Apparently, Marjorie Farber and her husband, William, had been neighbors of the Coppolinos in New Jersey two years earlier. Farber claimed that she had had an affair with Carl Coppolino and that the two had plotted her husband's death.
According to Farber, Dr. Carl Coppolino gave Marjorie a syringe with which to inject her sleeping husband. Marjorie was unable to carry out the dirty deed -- she prolly should have contacted AC/DC who do "dirty deeds dirt cheap," but I digress.
Instead, Marjorie alleged, Carl Coppolino strangled Marjorie's husband William Farber. Carl's unsuspecting wife Dr. Carmela Coppilino then signed the death certificate, declaring William Farber's death a heart attack.
This new information led law enforcement officials in New Jersey and Florida to exhume the bodies of both Carmela Coppolino and William Farber. Carl was brought back to New Jersey to face trial. Despite Marjorie's testimony, both conflicting medical evidence and the theatrical performance of defense attorney F. Lee Bailey led the jury to acquit Carl in this trial in the murder of William Farber.
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5876/wwwwwuntitledak5.png (http://imageshack.us)
F. Lee Bailey. He used to be the "go-to" guy if you had big bucks and were charged with a serious crime. Remember, under our system, his job was to ensure the defendant's rights were not violated and to ensure the prosecution could prove each and every element of the crime "beyond a reasonable doubt." If the prosecution can't, the defendant walks. One of my law perfessors told us an oft repeated little ditty: if the law is on your side, then holler about the law. If the facts are on your side, then holler about the facts. If neither the law nor the facts are on your side, just holler and beat on the table a lot.:D
Despite Dr Evile's acquittal in NJ, Carl was still scheduled to stand trial in Florida for the murder of his wife Carmela.
At first, medical examiners did not find any evidence of foul play with Carmela's body. But, after considering that Carl had been an anesthesiologist, they posited that he might have used the virtually untraceable succinylcholine chloride to cause muscle paralysis and heart failure.
Succinylcholine chloride is normally administered as an adjunct to general anesthesia, to facilitate tracheal intubation, and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery. Obviously, too much will kill.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7414/wwwcur2hd8.gif (http://imageshack.us)
Wanna make some at home?;)
It took doctors six months to develop a test that could trace this substance in Carmela's body. Ultimately, the test proved their theory, and Coppolino was convicted in Naples, Florida, in April 1967. He served 12 years before being paroled in 1979.
I don't know what he's doing now or even if he's still alive, but I bet he ain't practicing anesthesiology anymore.
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/875/insane7zoit6.jpg