Idaho Coroner Goes 'On the Record'

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," May 19, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: The deadly mystery continues: Autopsies have been done on the three victims found dead in an Idaho home on Monday night. Did the bodies provide clues? Joining us in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, is Dr. Robert West, Kootenai County coroner. Welcome, Dr. West.

DR. ROBERT WEST, KOOTENAI COUNTY CORONER: Good evening, Greta.

VAN SUSTEREN: Dr. West, when did you first hear about this triple homicide?

WEST: On Monday evening, about 8:15, Kootenai County sheriff's deputies gave us a heads-up in the coroner's office that they were headed out to a triple homicide. Later that evening, because of weather and darkness, they indicated they would get a search warrant and begin the investigation first thing on Tuesday morning.

VAN SUSTEREN: So when did your office sort of get into action? You had notice about 8:30 p.m. Monday. When did you start actually working on the case?

WEST: We met the Kootenai investigating deputies, along with Idaho state police investigators, at about 7:15 on Tuesday morning.

VAN SUSTEREN: And when did the bodies leave the scene?

WEST: The exact time I don't know. As you found out previously, there was a tremendous amount of investigation in the house, scene processing that needed to be done prior to removal of the bodies, which occurred late Tuesday afternoon, about 5:00, 5:30.

VAN SUSTEREN: Did you actually go to the scene of the murders, sir?

WEST: That's correct. Both myself and one of my deputy coroners went to the scene. We were conducted through the house and around the perimeter of the house with the lead deputy or the lead detective and one of the ISP forensic investigators.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. So if you sort of got into gear about 7:15 AM and the bodies left the house about 5:30 p.m., about what time were you out at the home?

WEST: I was there at about 7:15, and I stayed there for about two hours. At that time, the detectives took over the scene processing with contact during the day for progress reports. And when they indicated about 4:00 o'clock that they were ready for the funeral homes to remove the bodies, we dispatched them to the scene.

VAN SUSTEREN: Were there any clues that you noticed? I know that everyone's holding it very tight to his vest, the police, for investigative reasons. But were there clues there on the scene that you saw or on the bodies that will help the police identify the killer or killers?

WEST: I would not be the expert as far as identifying the killers based on the clues at the scene or clues at the body. It was an extremely disturbing scene, with both the number of victims, the amount of distraction in the house itself, both confined to the area where the bodies were found, as well as the two bedrooms on the first level.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Now, I know the cause of death has been released in the press release. Can you tell us what the cause of death was of each person, or was it the same thing for each?

WEST: All right. Cause of death in Mr. McKenzie is blunt impact trauma to the head, with associated skull fractures and brain contusions. In Mrs. Groene and her son, both of them also had blunt trauma to the head, with skull fractures. They also had lacerations of brain tissue.

VAN SUSTEREN: Did you see a murder weapon on the scene or what might be a murder weapon or not?

WEST: Greta, this is a rural area with a well-equipped shop. Mr. Mckenzie was a noted outdoorsman and hunter. There were numerous items on the property that could — and I emphasize "could" have been the weapon. However, to my knowledge, neither the investigators nor myself or my deputy identified a weapon that would be plausible to cause the injuries.

VAN SUSTEREN: Dr. West, you've done a lot of these investigations. You've been a doctor for a significant number of years. Ever see any murder scene like this before?

WEST: I've never seen a multiple homicide, at least in this area, and I've been deputy coroner and coroner since 1970. We've had some horrific accidents. We've had some horrific murders. But not of this number, not in this close proximity.

VAN SUSTEREN: Dr. West, thank you for joining us.

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