Oregonian,
The (
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Author: JOHN SNELL -
of the Oregonian Staff
Summary: The medical
examiner's report says the knife pierced two coats and a stack of business
cards
Former Corrections
Director Michael Francke
was killed by a stab to the chest that was powerful enough to cut through his
raincoat, his suit coat and a small stack of business cards in his pocket
before piercing his heart, according to an autopsy released Wednesday.
The autopsy performed on
the body contains no surprising revelations about the death. Francke was
stabbed to death outside his Salem office about 7 p.m. on Jan. 17, 1989.
A complete copy of the
autopsy report was released Wednesday by Francke's brother, Patrick.
Family members sued Marion County District Attorney Dale Penn last year to
obtain the document, and it later was released to the family on the condition
that it be kept secret until a murder indictment was
issued.
In addition to detailing
numerous knife wounds, the report, written by Dr. Larry V. Lewman,
the state medical examiner, also said:
There was no evidence of
mutilation of Francke's
body. Immediately following the killing, there were persistent rumors that Francke had
been mutilated.
There was no evidence
that Francke
suffered a blow to the head, although there were several scratches or scrapes
mostly around his eyes that could have been caused by his glasses during a
fall.
Francke had $36
in his left front pocket and a billfold in his right rear pocket when his body
was found. His pager was attached to his belt and several keys on a ring were
in his suit coat.
A report from a deputy
who removed Francke's
body showed he was wearing a Casio digital watch. The only other jewelry he was
wearing was a silver wedding band. Newspaper accounts since the murder have
said Francke
was wearing a gold Rolex watch when his body was found. Before Gable's arrest,
this was raised on a half-dozen occasions to discount robbery as a motive in the
killing.
There was no evidence of
alcohol or drugs in Francke's
blood.
Frank E. Gable, a
three-time convicted felon involved in
The indictment against
Gable alleges that he committed the murder in the course of either robbing Francke or
stealing something from his car. One count alleges that Francke's murder was in some way
related to his position in the Corrections Department.
The autopsy report said
the cause of death was a stab wound to the heart. The knife penetrated Francke's
chest below the left nipple, pushed between two of his ribs and punctured his
left lung, left ventricle and a major artery in the heart.
There was massive
bleeding in the chest cavity and in the sac surrounding the heart, Lewman's report said.
Lewman said he found no ``hilt abrasion'' or scrape that might
have been made had the knife's handle struck Francke's flesh. The report
said the murder weapon might have been 5 to 7 inches long. The fatal wound was
1 inch wide.
The trajectory of the
fatal wound is ``slightly left to right and slightly above to below.''
Gable's wife, Janyne Gable, said Wednesday that her husband is
right-handed. ``I went through that already with the detectives,'' she added.
Lewman refused Wednesday to comment on the autopsy beyond what is
contained in the report.
There were several
wounds to Francke's
head, but the report described them as minor. All were abrasions -- scratches
or scrapes -- located around the left eye, in the area above the eyebrow and in
the boney ridge below the eyesocket.
Francke wore
eyeglasses and the description of the wounds might coincide with the circular
area around the eye that would have been outlined by the frames, had they been
pushed against his face in a fall, for instance.
There also were two
superficial scrapes to his right forehead about three-quarters of an inch long.
The report said there was no visible bruise near the scrapes.
The report also
describes a superficial stab wound to the chest and multiple wounds and
lacerations to the right hand and forearm. There also was a stab wound to the
biceps of his left arm and numerous abrasions and cuts to his left hand,
fingers and wrist.