Finally, in an effort to put the rumor to rest, Jim Roberts, the undertaker who handled her remains, famously told The New York Times : . This statement, combined with the clinical data, confirms that while her injuries were catastrophic, the body was not entirely decapitated in the way the myth suggests.
To understand the autopsy findings, one must first look at the mechanics of the accident itself.
The official cause of death was listed as a . According to her death certificate, she suffered:
Contrary to the persistent myth, the autopsy report explicitly states that However, the injuries were so severe that the rumor’s origin is understandable. jayne mansfield autopsy report
The Death and Aftermath of Jayne Mansfield: Separating Myth from the Autopsy Reality
At approximately 2:25 AM on June 29, the Buick was traveling west on US Highway 90 in Slidell, Louisiana. Ahead of them, a tractor-trailer had slowed down behind a truck spraying a thick fog of anti-mosquito chemical. The heavy white mist obscured the highway. Harrison, driving at high speed, failed to see the slowed semi-truck in time.
Detail the of the Mansfield bar over the decades Finally, in an effort to put the rumor
: Instantaneous death upon impact during a high-speed traffic collision. Specific Injuries
Investigators realized that if the tractor-trailer had been equipped with a barrier to prevent smaller cars from sliding underneath it, the three adults in the front seat might have survived. The devastating "underride" effect bypasses a car's crumple zones and airbags, impacting the passengers directly at head level.
The medical consensus was clear: the injury was a partial scalping and a severe skull fracture, not a decapitation. The Legacy of the Tragedy: The "Mansfield Bar" The official cause of death was listed as a
Following the accident, Mansfield’s body was taken for examination in New Orleans. The official autopsy and the subsequent death certificate provide the single most reliable source of information about the exact cause of her death.
The autopsy findings—reported by Dr. Chetta and often discussed by the forensic experts of the time—show that while the injuries were gruesome, the head and body remained connected. Official Cause of Death: