Autopsy Fails to Find Any Fatal Injury : Father Cites Reported Test Results on Son Who Died After Arrest

Preliminary autopsy results showed that Mark Kevin Ross, 23, who died without regaining consciousness after a struggle with Huntington Beach police, suffered no physical signs of trauma that would explain his death, according to his father and sources close to the investigation.

Ross, who lapsed into a coma a few hours after he was arrested on Dec. 13, was pronounced dead on Christmas Day. The Orange County coroner’s office has declined to comment on the Ross autopsy, saying it may be several weeks before the cause of death can be determined, pending toxicology tests.

‘No Signs of Trauma’

Ross’ father, Robert Ross Sr., said Wednesday that a district attorney’s investigator told him that a preliminary autopsy report found “no signs of any trauma that could have caused the loss of life or caused the heart attack.”

According to Ross, district attorney investigator “(Harry) Graves said the preliminary autopsy was inconclusive and showed no signs of trauma to the head that could have caused death.”

Graves could not be reached for comment.

Reported No Trauma

Two sources close to the investigation who requested anonymity also said Wednesday that the preliminary autopsy findings show no signs of trauma.

One source said there were “no signs of a severe beating. There were some very, very minor (bruises on the) lower body.”

Loren Duchesne, chief investigator for the Orange County district attorney’s office, said Dec. 18--while Ross was still comatose at Huntington Beach’s Pacifica Community Hospital--that there were “no external injuries that would explain his current condition.”

And the district attorney’s office revealed last week that tests showed that Ross, who was arrested for outstanding traffic warrants, had higher levels of cocaine than have been found in cocaine overdose deaths investigated by the coroner’s office.

However, James DiCesare, the Ross family’s attorney, has said there are at least two eyewitnesses who claim Huntington Beach police officers Dan Johnson and Heather Dreyer beat Ross 10 to 20 times with batons when they arrested him for outstanding traffic warrants. The officers told district attorney investigators that the force they used was “reasonable to overcome the subject’s resistance.”

Declined Comment

Huntington Beach police and the district attorney’s office have declined to comment on the autopsy.

Robert Ross said that when he saw his son “in the hospital, his hands were cut up and his lip was badly cut. I never did see his back. He was always lying on his back.”

Life support systems were disconnected from Mark Ross’ body on Dec. 25, and memorial services were held Monday for the free-lance artist and musician.

“I have to believe that our process of law, though it’s faulty at times . . . the truth comes out in the end,” his father said Wednesday. “Whatever the truth may be, I think it will come out.”