Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Autopsy results of Terri Schiavo's 13-day starvation death will be made public on Wednesday. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, hope they will be able to shed some light on the cause of her collapse in 1990.

While Terri's estranged husband Michael and the media claim she collapsed because of a potassium imbalance, Terri's family is concerned that Michael may have physically abused her. A bone scan conducted on Terri a year after her collapse shows signs of possible physical abuse.

The autopsy results come more than two months after her death and Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin will present them at a Wednesday morning news conference. Attorneys for Michel and the Schindlers expect to get the report hours before it is made public.

Terri's brother Bobby, in Minneapolis for the National Right to Life convention, said Terri's family is anxious to see whether the results provide any further indication as to what happened to Terri in 1990.

"Our family would really like to know what caused Terri's collapse," Schindler said. "I don't know what they can and can't find 15 years after the fact. If we could get some of our questions answered as to how Terri ended up the way she did, that would be helpful."

While the autopsy will not likely be able to show whether Terri was PVS or minimally conscious and able to interact, it would show whether or not Terri had broken bones that eventually healed.
George Felos, the assisted suicide advocate who is Michael's lead attorney, said he expects the Schindlers to continue to engage in a so-called "smear campaign" against Michael, once the results are released.

"I think everyone who has followed the facts in this case knows there is no substance to those (abuse) charges, and I'm confident we're not going to hear anything differently from the medical examiner," Felos told the Associated Press.

Bill Pellan, chief investigator for the medical examiner's office, told AP that Thogmartin reviewed police reports, medical records, and other documents to try to determine the cause of Terri's collapse. He also confirmed that the issue of whether Terri was in a persistent vegetative state "will be addressed."

The Schindlers hoped to have an independent expert observe the autopsy. They wanted to bring in Dr. Cyril Wecht, the well-known forensic pathologist and coroner of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
Wecht told the Schindlers he would observe an autopsy, but Thogmartin's office refused their request.

The remains of Terri's body were cremate days after her death and following Thogmartin's obtaining the necessary pictures and other information he needed for the autopsy.

Related web sites:
Terri Schiavo's parents - http://www.terrisfight.org