Investigators Think They Have Understanding of Saget's Death

"There are still a lot of unanswered questions," a sheriff's deputy in Orange County, Fla., tells People, referring to the ongoing mystery of what caused Bob Saget's death. But after his autopsy was released earlier this month detailing serious "blunt head trauma ... most likely incurred from an unwitnessed fall," investigators believe they have a better picture of what happened. The crux of it: They think the 65-year-old comedian fainted in the bathroom of his Orlando hotel room and fell backward onto the floor, striking his head against the marble. Authorities say it seems as if Saget then came to at some point after that and managed to make his way to his bed, where he eventually died.

If it seems that solving the Saget case is a slow go, Fox News notes the complexities involved in figuring out how someone died in such a case as this, with forensic experts telling the outlet that such a probe typically involves "a collaborative effort between the medical examiner, law enforcement investigators, forensic investigators, including crime scene and crime lab officials, and the district attorney." Forensic pathologist Judy Melinek, who reviewed Saget's autopsy report, independently backs up the latest theory, waving off neurology experts in a recent New York Times article who said that Saget's injuries seemed more consistent with patients who've been slammed in the head with a baseball bat or plummeted 20 or 30 feet—not someone who's had a simple fall.

"Blunt trauma" from such incidents as those mentioned in the Times "cause much more serious injuries than Saget's," Melinek tells MedPage Today. "The injuries in Saget's autopsy are common in patients found dead at a scene after they have had a simple fall from standing height." She notes that someone falling backward onto a hard surface could suffer the injuries Saget did, regain consciousness temporarily, and stumble into bed before passing out again and dying. Melinek, who adds that Saget's cardiovascular issues could have caused him to faint in the first place, slams the Times for using neurosurgeons to analyze a report prepared by a forensic pathologist, saying those experts "are opining way outside their realm of expertise." She says that by doing so, the Times simply spurred on "social media conspiracy theorists" who are now sowing doubt about how Saget died. (More Bob Saget stories.)