Airdate: Autopsy: The Last Days Of…

Next week Seven returns US forensic special Autopsy: The Last Days Of... looking at the deaths of famous people.

World-renowned forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd, re-examines the medical evidence relating to the deaths of Elvis Presley, River Phoenix and Nicole Brown Simpson.

NB: Last year the series was Autopsy: The Last Hours of… which is the title on IMDb but Seven advises it is a new series.

Armed with their autopsy reports, Dr Shepherd picks through the indisputable medical facts to reveal an intimate portrait of how each celebrity lived, breathed and ultimately suffered. Alongside his medical testimony, the timeline of events that contributed to their untimely deaths is explored and first hand factual accounts of what actually took place complete the picture.

Elvis Presley: On the 16th August 1977, Elvis Presley was pronounced dead having been found lying unconscious on the bathroom floor of Graceland. He was just 42. The autopsy states that Elvis died of a cardiac arrhythmia, but almost everyone dies of a cardiac event – the key question is, what caused that arrhythmia?

River Phoenix: On the 31st October 1993, after an hour at friend Johnny Depp’s exclusive nightclub in Los Angeles, River Phoenix started convulsing. After five seizures in 30 minutes and repeated attempts at resuscitation by paramedics, he was officially pronounced dead. How does the hour he spent at The Viper Room hold the key to understanding why River, a perfectly fit and healthy young man, lost his life so tragically?

Nicole Brown Simpson: On the 12th June 1994, the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson, ex-wife of OJ Simpson, and Ron Goldman, a friend, were found stabbed to death on the sidewalk of her west LA home. Despite OJ being arrested and tried for the murders in “the trial of the century”, he was acquitted and even after extensive forensic police investigations no one has ever been found guilty of these horrendous crimes. Why?

Autopsy: The Last Days Of Elvis Presley premieres Thursday, February 19 at 10pm on Seven, with specials on River Phoenix and Nicole Brown Simpson to follow in subsequent weeks.