Ramsey County murder convictions tied to a highly controversial former medical examiner will not be overturned, according to a major announcement from regional prosecutors. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi confirmed on Tuesday that his executive office has officially concluded comprehensive independent case reviews into six high-profile homicide files spanning over three decades. The complex prosecutorial review focused heavily on the legacy and medical testimony of Dr. Michael McGee, who served as the chief medical examiner for the region from 1985 through 2019. While Choi openly criticized McGee’s clinical characterization of events, noting that the former official frequently utilized questionable terminology that could have unfairly swayed juries, he maintained that the systemic errors did not ultimately impact the core validity of the trials or alter the determination of guilt.
The extensive investigation by an independent medical panel scrutinized several highly sensitive cases, including three devastating homicides involving young children. Among the files reviewed were the 1996 conviction of Michael Wayne French, the 2007 conviction of Said Gouleed, and the 2001 conviction of Kyle Kelbel. In each instance, the panel of outside medical specialists concluded that while they likely would have phrased the official causes of death differently than McGee did, they ultimately agreed with the broader anatomical substance of his forensic conclusions. The review also deep-dived into the 2002 premeditated murder conviction of Kou Moua, which stemmed from a fatal gang-related shooting. Although the independent oversight group explicitly took issue with McGee’s highly specific forensic analysis regarding how the gunshots were fired, prosecutors determined the discrepancy failed to compromise the trial’s ultimate outcome.
Furthermore, the administration’s detailed audit upheld two additional severe convictions involving sexual assault. In the 2009 case of Michael Sontoya, who was convicted of first-degree murder during the commission of a sexual assault, the independent panel verified that the victim’s severe physical trauma was entirely inconsistent with consensual activity. Similarly, in a 1998 case against American Laverne Morris, the panel strongly questioned McGee’s speculative timeline regarding the precise cause of death. However, prosecutor John Choi emphasized that the external physical and circumstantial evidence pointing to nonconsensual assault was so overwhelmingly powerful that McGee’s chronological miscalculation failed to impact the final verdict.
The long-awaited resolution follows years of escalating national skepticism surrounding McGee’s professional credibility, which reached a boiling point in 2021 when a federal judge threw out a high-profile death sentence, labeling McGee’s forensic assertions as completely unreliable, misleading, and inaccurate. That landmark judicial rebuke prompted Choi to dedicate 380,000 dollars to review hundreds of historical autopsies. A seventh case remains under active review due to ongoing plea negotiations, with formal determinations expected to be publicized later. These complex findings showcase the profound challenges of managing legacy forensic practices within the modern criminal justice system, leaving the historical Ramsey County murder convictions completely intact.
