Wearing surgical gloves, it's alleged, he opened Mrs Everson's chest with the penknife and removed the pacemaker. He left the knife, his surgical gloves and the pacemaker on Mrs Everson's bed-side table before leaving. Jennifer Everson is said to have been left upset and bewildered by the conduct of the doctor. The police were asked to investigate the case by south Manchester coroner John Pollard. The incident was brought to the coroner's attention by a local undertaker who had noticed an open wound in Mrs Everson's chest.
Pacemakers are radioactive and can explode during cremation.
They are usually removed at the mortuary from people who are due to be cremated, as was the case with Mrs Everson. The normal procedure is for pacemakers to be removed at the funeral home once the death certification has been issued. A policeman committed suicide in the middle of a Cure gig in Prague on April 12. He had shot himself, but no letter or suicide note was found near the body. He was pouring colouring into the cylindrical 3ft x 5ft vat when he fell in and was sliced by revolving blades.