Medical Examiner: Ex-USC gynecologist Tyndall had ‘history of natural disease’

Explaining why it declined to perform an autopsy on a former longtime USC campus gynecologist charged with sexual misconduct on 16 patients, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office on Friday said George Tyndall had “a history of natural disease” that explained his sudden death.

Tyndall, 76, was found dead Wednesday in his Los Angeles condominium by a friend who had been unable to reach him. At the time of his death, he was awaiting trial on sex-related charges involving patients who accused him of inappropriate behavior under the guise of medical exams.

Tyndall and his attorneys repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

On Thursday, following news of his death, the LA County Department of Medical Examiner announced it would not perform an autopsy, drawing the ire of at least one attorney representing some of Tyndall’s alleged victims, insisting the women deserved some finality in the case.

In a statement Friday, the Department of Medical Examiner said it responded to Tyndall’s home around 5 p.m. Wednesday.

“It was determined during the DME’s investigation there was a history of natural disease that explains Mr. Tyndall’s sudden death with no suspicious circumstances for foul play, suicide or toxins playing a role in his death, therefore no autopsy exam was performed,” according to the office. “The DME’s role is to inquire into and determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of all sudden, violent, or unusual deaths, and those deaths where the decedent has not been seen by a physician 20 days prior to death.”

The Medical Examiner will issue an investigator’s report once it is completed.

Tyndall was ordered Aug. 11 to stand trial on 18 felony counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person — charges that allege the women were “unconscious of the nature of the act” and that it served “no professional purpose” — along with nine felony counts of sexual battery by fraud.

The criminal complaint alleges that the crimes occurred between 2009 and 2016.

The women had gone to USC’s student health center for annual examinations or other treatment while Tyndall was working there.

Eight charges involving five other women were dismissed earlier because four of them opted not to proceed and one could not be contacted.

Attorney John Manly, who represents a number of alleged Tyndall victims, issued a statement Thursday blasting the decision not to perform an autopsy, saying authorities “refused to properly investigate his death” by quickly declaring it “natural causes.”

“This refusal to properly investigate Tyndall’s cause of death allows him to get away with his decades of horrific abuse, and leaves hundreds of women without answers,” Manly said.

He added, “Dr. George Tyndall’s death before he was tried represents a complete failure of the justice system in Los Angeles. His criminal case has been pending for nearly 5 years and finally was ordered to trial less than a month ago. Put simply, L.A. County D.A. George Gascón failed his victims which number in the thousands. Not only was Tyndall allowed to escape justice for five years after his arrest but USC’s secrets that he alone holds died with him.”

Tyndall attorney Leonard Levine told City News Service his client “desperately wanted to go to trial and that’s where the issues of guilt or innocence should be resolved.” He said his client had planned to testify and “declare his innocence.”

Tyndall’s defense team will seek the dismissal of the case once a copy of his death certificate is available, Levine said.

Tyndall had been set to appear Oct. 13 at a hearing in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. The defense had been planning to ask the judge then to lower Tyndall’s $1.3 million bail to $250,000 and to free him from electronic monitoring, given the dismissal of eight charges involving five other women.

Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told the judge during an Aug. 11 hearing that Tyndall was employed at a prestigious university and that the patients — often as young as 18, 19 or 20 — “trust in this guy” and “believe what he is doing is appropriate.”

“That’s how he gets away with this … In their mind, they think what’s being done is correct,” the prosecutor said, adding that Tyndall’s patients were “unable to resist” because they were not aware of the nature of what Tyndall was doing.

Levine countered that many patients were not comfortable with the way Tyndall spoke to them, but said he believed their perception of Tyndall changed to the acts being viewed as “sexual in nature” rather than a standard gynecological examination after a Los Angeles Times article about alleged wrongdoing by the former campus gynecologist.

The defense lawyer told the judge that he believed the investigation into the alleged crimes was “totally lacking,” saying that the defense maintains that the examinations were done for a legitimate medical purpose.

In March 2021, attorneys representing hundreds of women who claim they were sexually abused by Tyndall announced an $852 million settlement of lawsuits against the university, describing the resolution as the largest of its type ever against a university.

In January 2020, a federal judge in Los Angeles granted final approval of a $215 million class-action settlement between USC and some of the women who claim they were sexually abused by Tyndall.

The settlement provides all class members — about 17,000 former patients who received women’s health services from Tyndall — compensation of $2,500 and up. Patients who are willing to provide further details about their experience could be eligible for additional compensation up to $250,000.

Attorneys for some victims have argued that following an internal investigation of complaints against Tyndall in 2016, the university paid Tyndall a substantial financial settlement so he would quietly resign.

USC officials had repeatedly denied allegations of a cover-up relating to Tyndall and have said that in response to the scandal, new protocols were implemented at its student health center to ensure any complaints are investigated and resolved by appropriate university officials and authorities. The university also said it has hired female, board-certified physicians and introduced patient education materials about sensitive examinations.

After the March 2021 settlement, USC President Carol Folt released a statement in which she said, “I am deeply sorry for the pain experienced by these valued members of the USC community. We appreciate the courage of all who came forward and hope this much-needed resolution provides some relief to the women abused by George Tyndall.”

Tyndall surrendered his medical license in September 2019, according to records from the Medical Board of California.

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