From: steuart@btinternet.com   
      
   ACPD Sun 18 Jul 1999   
      
   The last few weeks seen the foundations of the conspiracy case looking   
   decidedly weak.  Is life left in the ol beast?   
      
   One of the sacred axioms of the conspiracy cannon is the CO level, since it   
   was revealed in DOP in Feb 98, that HP had mysteriously high levels in his   
   blood sample.  This gave rise to all kinds of frenzied speculation about the   
   legitmacy of the blood sample and the possibility that it had been switched.   
      
      
   This theory began to look doubtful, when Martyn Gregory noted in his Daily   
   Mail serailisation June 26th 1999,   
      
      
   "The other tantalising lead for the conspiracy theorists was the unusually   
   high level of carbon monixide found in Henri Paul's blood, leading them to   
   argue that this was proof the blood samples had been switched.  But the   
   prosaic fact is that levels of carbon monoxide are commonly eight to ten   
   times higher in smokers than in non-smokers - and Paul and been putting   
   small cigars immediately before he left the Ritz"   
      
      
   I made this point months ago and I congratulate Gregory for noting it   
   himself.  However, Gregory has gone much further than that.  In his book   
   Diana The Last Days(from now on DLD)published by Virgin, Gregory interviewed   
   the man who made the finding on behalf of Magistrate Stephan.   
      
      
   Gregory reveals that Stephan commissioned what is termed an 'expertise' into   
   the CO levels led by Professeur Dominique Lecomte and Dr Gilbert Pepin.   
   This 'expertise' submitted its findings to Stephan on 16th October, 1998.   
   Gregory was given access to this through Pepin.   
      
      
   Gregory reveals for the first time that not one but two tests were done on   
   samples taken from different areas of HP's body.  One from the heart and   
   lungs which registred 20.7% saturation levels and another from the groin   
   which measured 12.8%. This provided an average level of saturation of 16.75%   
   CO.  Once deductions are made for HP's smoking habit, the actual residue   
   figure is 6.75%(p. 152)  Gregory also points out that the difference in the   
   levels between the 'core' sample  and 'peripheral' sample is a strong   
   indicator that HP did not die instantly in the crash and that his   
   respiration may have continued for a few moments after impact.  Thus Pepin   
   told Gregory that the CO result had 'no signifcance' to the enquiry(p. 149)   
   because it could be accounted for.   
      
      
   Pepin and Lecomte sought the advise of the Autoliv company, which produces   
   airbags and seatbelt 'pre-tensioners'.  Autoliv told them,   
      
      
   "....that the quantity of carbon-monoxide produced in a car by its releast   
   on brutal impact, to two airbags and two seat belt systems, is between on   
   and several grammes.  In other other words, between ten and several dozen   
   times more than the necessary quantity of carbon-monoxide to produce a level   
   of 20.7 per cent in the blood."(p. 152)   
      
      
   Game, set and match!   
      
      
   Here endeth the mystery.   
      
      
   Geoff.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)