Dr. John Cooper, who is self-employed, said 70-year-old Felix Polk's heart problems were a "time bomb" and that his death in October 2002 at his Orinda home was caused by "acute coronary insufficiency due to severe coronary artery disease."

In other words, the death was natural and not a homicide, said Cooper. He said the stab wounds were only a contributing factor because "the severity of the injuries was really not that great."

"Self-employed pathologist"

Cooper accused Dr. Brian Peterson, the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy of Felix Polk for Contra Costa County, of being "excessively dramatic" and "excessively inflammatory" on the autopsy report. Where Peterson listed 27 stab wounds and blunt force trauma as the cause of death, Cooper said he would simply have listed "multiple stab wounds."