A resident of Austin, Texas, Danielo Perez held duties as a forensic pathologist and performed autopsies at the scenes of deaths that were unnatural, unexplained, and unattended. Many of the cases Danielo Perez handled in Austin involved situations where there was no apparent trauma and the cause of death needed to be forensically deduced.
One of the core questions of the forensic pathologist is whether the death was natural or unnatural. This is particularly difficult in situations where the deceased has a pre-existing condition or illness, such as asthma or pneumonia that could logically be linked to the death.
Stress-related deaths are particularly difficult to pin down conclusively, as they often relate to existing health conditions such as heart disease. Different types of stress, from family emergencies to overwork, can compound and aggravate these health issues.
A comprehensive investigation in which the cause of death is unclear extends beyond postmortem exam and assessment of medical history and includes information gleaned from friends, relatives, and colleagues. In this way, such cases regularly span disciplines and require coordinated efforts between several experts.
