Let's explore the timeline between the surgery of AA in Aug of 1979 to the delivery of the intestine sample to Dr. Gill on 29 June 1994.
20 Aug 1979 - AA was rushed to Martha Jefferson Hospital where Dr. Richard Shrum operated on her small intestine obstruction which prove to have turned gangrene. Massie tells us the details on p. 194-5 THE ROMANOVS, THE FINAL CHAPTER:
>>The procedure of sending the tissue to the pathology lab was sent 5 inches of intestines. This tissue was divided into five one-inch segments which were bathed in a issue preservative called formalin, sealed inside a block of paraffin wax one inch square and half an inch deep, and placed in a small blue and white box on a shelf filled with other similar boxes containing tissue specimens.<<
12 Feb 1984 - Anna Anderson Manahan died. Her body was cremated the same day.
July 1992 - Dr. William Maples stated that he believed Anastasia was the missing Grand Duchess and not Maria whom the Russians claimed was missing
22 Sept 1992 Syd Mandelaum writes to several major laboratories looking for genetic samples of AA's to test at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory or at Harvard Medical School because he was writing a book on DNA and wanted to add it's usage to forenic in regards to AA. The one letter went to Martha Jefferson Hospital where AA had surgery.
p. 195 Massie tells us the answer Mandelaum receive to his inquiry:
>>...Martha Jefferson Hospital, replied to Mandelbaun that "we have nothing here that could be useful to you."
Klier and Mingay give us more information on this request p. 203
>>...At the time the hospital was in a chaotic administrative state due to a major refurbishment, and although officals conducted a cursory search of their files, they did not find any recoreds under either of those names. Hospital officals claim they did not intentionally mislead Mandelbaum. Indeen there was no tissue sample stored in the hospital under either name proposed by Mandelbaum.<< The names he had given were Anna Anderson or Mrs. Jack Manahan.
22 Nov 1992 Mary DeWitt, p. 196, >>a student of forensic pathology of the University of Texas<< asked the hospiital for some tissue because she'd like to stuy it for a paper. They reply from Penny Jenkins was: >>"No, I can't help you."<< Mary DeWitt did not give up. She contacted Lovell asking for his help. Lovel received a letter from John Manahan's cousin Fred Lowvel who granted Lovel authority to dispose of the tissue.
Dec 1992, two days after Mary DeWitt's first letter - Dr. Willi Korte conatacted Jenkins. Her story was different to Korte. She told him that they did have compartitive samples of AA.
p. 206 of Kleir and Mingay:
>>Korte's...phone calls galvanized the hospital's acting director of medical records, Penny Jenkins, to take a more detailed look at the hospital's patient database. She made a through search of the viles and the pathology departemtn's vaults and found that, indeed, a tissue sample from Anderson was held there, albeit under the name of Anatasia Manahan.<< This was found Dec 1992one month after his first phone call.
Dec. 1992 - Thomas Kline with the law firm Andrews and Kurth contacted Jenkins. Jenkins told him they had samples.
Sping 1993 Mary DeWitt's lawyer contacted Martha Jefferson Hospital, again....
The agreement between DeWitt and Lovel disintergrated and Lovel refused to be part of DeWitt's research. Evidently DeWitt's husband was an investigator but there is no mention if he had been hired by anyone or if he was acting on his own or if she was just doing this on her own.
Jan 1993 - Thomas Kline contacted Fred Manahan who referred him to Lovel.
16 April 1993- Kline wrote to Lovell formally asking for help in obtaining access to AA's tissue for DNA testing to be done by the Forensic Insitute in Munich.
18 March 1993 -Kline wrote Lovel again and explained what he thought of Korte and suggested Dr. Mary-Claire King [UC Berkeley] if he did not wish to use Munich with whom Dr. Gill was a part.
date? Lovel contacted Richard Schweitzer for advice.
Meanwhile, Penny Jenkins who had been contacted by these people and attorneys, started to ask the hospital attorneys what needed to done. The hospital attorneys dealt with Richard Schwitzer who is a lawyer and use to post here on this forum.
May to Sept 1993 -
(1) Agreement was made to use a litigator Matthey Murray.
(2) Richard Schweitzer approached Dr. Gill after he was told the Armed Forces Institue of Pathology in Maryland could not agree to the terms of the test of the DNA. And filed his wife's petition 30 Sept 1993 because of who she was and her contact with AA and being a citizen of Virgina which was required
1 Nov 1993 Circuit Court Judge Jay T. Swett dealt with this case
I will continue with this timeline as I have time.
So, what timeline do we have so far with just the discovery of the sample to the first court appearance: 20 Aug 1992 to 1 Nov. 1993 which is more than a year.
AGRBear
