Official: Teen didn't die of natural causes

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
TAMPA, Fla. -- Martin Lee Anderson, the 14-year-old boy seen on a videotape being beaten, kneed and choked by guards at a Panhandle boot camp, did not die of natural causes or sickle-cell trait as originally reported, a second autopsy shows.
"We will confirm that preliminary findings indicate that Martin Anderson did not die of sickle cell trait, nor did he die of natural causes," said Pam Bondi, assistant state attorney and spokeswoman for State Attorney Mark Ober in Hillsborough County.
"Our investigation will take months to complete," Bondi added.
Bondi spoke after Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner hired by Martin's family who was present for the second autopsy, told reporters that the original autopsy conclusion was wrong.
"We all agreed," Baden told reporters, "Martin did not die of natural causes."
Baden said that though a definitive cause of death is yet to be determined, he believes the youth died of the manhandling he received from guards at the boot camp.