Upon a preliminary examination, conducted at the scene, a forensic pathologist estimated that Lavasani had been dead for at least an hour, meaning he could not have been killed by the three most recent shots, and leading the police to believe that two hostages had been killed.
Pada pemeriksaan awal, dilakukan di tempat kejadian, seorang ahli patologi forensik memperkirakan bahwa Abbas telah mati selama setidaknya satu jam—yang berarti ia tidak terbunuh oleh tiga tembakan terbaru, dan menyebabkan polisi percaya bahwa dua sandera telah dibunuh.