Letters From Alcatraz - Michael Esslinger [203]
In Dr. Roucek’s official report to Warden Johnston, he dictated the following after examining Coy’s corpse:
May 4, 1946
To: The Warden
Subject: Report of Death of Bernard Paul Coy, No. AZ-415.
Examination of the body of this inmate revealed the following: Body was cold and rigor mortis had set in. Pupils were fixed. Left arm was extended in a 15-degree angle; right arm was flexed at the elbow at approximately a 45-degree angle. He was wearing an Officers uniform coat marked Captain and underwear marked No. 415 with blue trousers marked No. 415.
Further examination revealed a small laceration of cheek over left maxilla and a large penetrating wound through left border of Sternal Mastoid muscle and apparently through upper border of Trapezius. Laceration of scalp approximately 2 cm to left and down from natural whorl of hair. There were no apparent wounds on the posterior side of body. There was bleeding from the nose. In the examination all clothing was cut from his body. This inmate was pronounced dead at 10:12 A.M. this date.
Examination was witnessed by the following Officers:
Medical Technical Assistant, Jesse A. Riser, USPHS
Lieutenant P.R. Bergen, Custodial Force
Senior Officer, John Delling, Custodial Force
Jr. Officer, D.H. Mowery, Custodial Force
Signed,
Louis G. Roucek, Surgeon
Chief Medical Officer
Bureau Director James V. Bennett arrived at the prison from Washington D.C. just in time to see the three deceased inmates sprawled on the cold cement prison floor. The bodies were covered, and had been prepared for transport back to the mainland. Ed Miller now switched his focus to the living ringleaders. A team of guards converged on the cells of Thompson, Carnes, and Shockley, and the inmates were marched one by one into separate isolation cells in A Block. The Alcatraz staff then assessed the aftermath of the battle. The wind whistled through the mortar holes in D Block. Correctional staff from the other prisons assisted in searching the cell of each inmate, and then placing them into lockdown. Jim Quillen would later write in his personal memoir, Alcatraz from the Inside:
The entire flat was covered with armed, nervous and tired guards. Each guard had been assigned an inmate to cover as he stepped from his cell. The guard assigned to cover me was a stranger, possibly from another institution. He was armed with a shotgun and was so nervous that I could see the gun trembling in his hands.
As the bodies of the three convicts were placed on the bow of the Warden Johnston, the press stood shoulder to shoulder at the gate of Van Ness Street Pier, snapping hundreds of photos as the boat approached. The bodies of the dead convicts were lifted and carried to the waiting ambulances. FBI officials then flocked to the island, and began an intensive investigation. A press conference was quickly held by U.S. Attorney Frank Hennessy in the San Francisco Federal Building, and he explained that the three survivors of the break would be charged with the murder of the two slain officers, as well as conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to escape. Later that evening Johnston and Bennett would hold the first ever press conference on Alcatraz, and would walk reporters through the prison explaining how the escape took place. Johnston escorted the all-male group of reporters and photographers through the prison as inmates chanted and shouted at them. He walked the group of visitors to the foot of the gun gallery and then over to the cells where Cretzer had fired upon the helpless guards, and where the blood stains were still fresh on the walls. The inmates yelled slurs, and several of the reporters wrote them into their features.