NBI’s autopsy on 2 ‘Forever Summer’ casualties reveals ‘grilled’ hearts

Autopsy results often paint pictures that we don’t want to see.

The descriptions that National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) medico legal officer Wilfredo Tierra certainly have that effect.

Over the weekend, tragedy struck at the “Forever Summer” concert at the SM Mall of Asia open parking grounds. Five people who attended the event ended up dead due to something that they had supposedly ingested.

The investigation on the deaths of Ariel Leal, 22; Lance Garcia, 36; Bianca Fontejon, 18; Eric Anthony Miller, 33; and Ken Migawa, 18 is still ongoing.

Following an autopsy on Fontejon and Garcia, Tierra told Philippine Daily Inquirer on Wed, May 25, that whatever they had allegedly ingested “was potent enough to damage all of their internal organs which carried signs of ruptured tissues or blood vessels.”

Tierra stated, “There was bleeding in the internal organs which is highly unusual in cases like these. Almost all internal organs were involved — the brain, the lungs, the liver, the intestines, the spleen, and the kidneys.”

There was also bleeding and swelling in the victims’ brains and large intestines while there were also signs of hemorrhage in a big portion of their lungs.

The report noted: “But what struck Tierra (who has been performing autopsies for 20 years) the most was the state of the victims’ hearts — both looked as if they had been grilled as these were a mixture of brown, red, and black in color.”

Tierra disclosed, “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen something like this. This is a severe form, [at] the extreme [end] of the spectrum of a heart attack because during the conduct of the autopsy, almost all parts of the heart were involved.”

Tierra clarified that Fontejon and Garcia “did not die solely of a heart attack, saying their deaths were unusual because all their internal organs failed.”

According to Tierra, a “normal heart attack” would only change the organ’s color from pink to slight brown, not black like the victims’.

That was all Tierra could say for now, as the NBI’s forensic division is “still finalizing the report on the results of the toxicology and dangerous drugs tests” conducted on the fatalities.