Michael M. Baden

Michael M. Baden (born July 27, 1934) is an American physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths and as the host of HBO's Autopsy. Baden was the chief medical examiner of the City of New York from 1978 to 1979. He was chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations' Forensic Pathology Panel that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Baden graduated at the top of his class from the City College of New York in 1955.

Baden received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine in 1960.

Baden was the chief medical examiner of the City of New York from 1978 to 1979, but was removed from his position by New York City Mayor Ed Koch, after Koch had received complaints about his work.Baden then took the same position a few miles away in Suffolk County, but was dismissed for allegedly making inappropriate comments about how to commit the perfect murder. The decision to let him go was rescinded shortly thereafter, as the circumstances of his alleged comments were unclear, but Baden chose to leave the position nonetheless.

Baden was chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations' Forensic Pathology Panel that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He is the Chief Forensic Pathologist for the New York State Police.

Baden maintains a private forensic pathology consulting practice. He has been a consulting or lead pathologist and an expert witness on a number of other high-profile cases and investigations. He testified at the trial of O. J. Simpson on behalf of the defendant, at Sergeant Evan Vela's court martial, and on behalf of Phil Spector at the latter's murder trial, while Baden's wife served as Spector's defense attorney. He has been hired to conduct private autopsies in a number of cases, including the shooting of Michael Brown and the deaths of New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez, civil rights lawyer and politician Chokwe Lumumba, George Floyd and African-American artist Ellis Ruley.He was chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations' Forensic Pathology Panel that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

In October 2019, Baden was hired by Jeffrey Epstein's brother, and observed the autopsy done by city officials following Epstein's death. Baden disputed New York City chief medical examiner Barbara Sampson's conclusion that Epstein's death was a suicide, asserting that three fractures in Epstein's neck were more consistent with homicide by strangulation and rarely seen in suicide by hanging. His opinion on the case has been disputed.

Michael Baden was born in the Bronx, New York City to a Jewish family. He is married to Linda Kenney Baden, who served as one of Phil Spector's main attorneys during his capital murder trial and replaced Bruce Cutler after his withdrawal from the proceedings. They have four children. His first marriage, which ended in 1997, was to Judianne Densen-Gerber, a physician and founder of the drug treatment program Odyssey House; together they had four children, Trissa, Judson, Lindsey, and Sarah.