Dr. Rudiger Breitenecker "Rudi", a Baltimore forensic pathologist who was Greater Baltimore Medical Center's own "Quincy," died peacefully at the age of 91 on September 22, 2021. Fittingly, he passed away during the National Forensic Science Week and at the hospital where he worked in the Pathology Department for 31 years. Prior to joining GBMC's Department of Pathology, Dr. Breitenecker was Maryland's Assistant Medical Examiner from 1962-1967. He retired in September 1998. At the time of his retirement, Dr. Breitenecker was the only physician on the East Coast who was quadruple board- certified in anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, forensic pathology, and transfusion medicine. He was a specialist in asbestos pathology and sexual assault examination. He also developed a career outside of GBMC, in forensic pathology, as an expert witness in court and in medical/legal consultation.Perhaps his greatest legacy professionally was the initiative he took to preserve forensic evidence from sexual assault victims long before the advent of DNA believing that advancements in science would someday enable law enforcement to use the evidence to identify suspects in cold cases. Dr. Breitenecker's expertise led to his involvement is many high-profile cases including the autopsies of Baltimore Colt legend Gene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb, assisting the United States Department of Justice in the aftermath of the cult leader Rev. JimJones and murder of a U.S. sitting Congressman in Guyana, and early in his career joining his father as an expert witness on a legal team that successfully defended Angela Davis in a Blank Panther murder trial in early 1970s in Los Angeles. "Dr. Breitenecker has always been well-respected by his peers," says Charles Haile, MD, Chief of Staff. "He is quiet, but forceful, and well-known for the energy he puts into researching unusual cases in-depth." His family misses him deeply and wonders who will emerge as the new Chess Champion without him.

A native of Vienna, Austria who naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1969, Dr. Breitenecker received his medical degree from the University of Vienna Medical School in 1954. At the time of his graduation Rudi was "enticed" by a visiting American physician, Dr. Lemoyne Snyder, to work in Michigan. Within days of graduating medical school in Vienna, Rudi managed to secure a job in Michigan, with his $300 savings, and secure passage on a vessel to the port of New York. He said he viewed the Statue of Liberty as a beacon of freedom and hope for those seeking the tremendous freedoms all citizens enjoy as Americans "in the land of equal opportunity for hard workers". After training as a young physician in East Lansing, Michigan, he then worked as an assistant professor at Duke University Medical School before coming to Baltimore.

In Baltimore, Rudi met his wife, Robin Jacques on a blind date and they hit it off immediately sharing the same passions for skiing, horses, travel and classical music. The young physician took to horseback riding in Baltimore County with Robin, who let him board his horses at her barn. One day in 1961 Robin laid down an ultimatum for Rudi to move his horse immediately, questioning his seriousness about their relationship and said "times up." Two days later, Rudi proposed to Robin because apparently, he couldn't bear the thought of moving the horse! It was a smart move on his part because they were married for the next 60 years.

Robin and Rudi travelled extensively around the world. They shared a special passion for Vienna, Austria which they frequented every fall to reunite with family and to enjoy the music of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wiener Opera. At home they were faithful patrons of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Michelle, a BSO friend said he was a "giant of a man" and further noted, "Rudi was a gift to me and to all who knew him—brilliant, witty, charismatic, charming, mischievous— and the MOST photogenic person I knew." Andrew and Jane, also Symphony friends said that "we gave him a ride home from the Meyerhoff one evening and he dared us to drive the length of Falls Rd without using the brakes! Apparently, it was something he liked to do! Full of fun and mischief even in his 80s." Rudi always loved a challenge, and we all remember the time he drove his old Mercedes into a flooded Western Run River on Cuba Road because he was convinced his German made prized car was amphibious. Needless to say, it was not and his son had to fish him and his car out of the river with a farm tractor and chain.

On June 6, 2008, at a GBMC ceremony the retired forensic pathologist received recognition from the Maryland State Police Office in Baltimore County and the Baltimore County Chief of Police (Chief's Award) for freezing evidence from rape victims from as far back as the 1970's, which has helped solve tens of dozens of rape cases. Dr. Breitenecker was a pioneer in the field of forensic science and has been credited with starting what is essentially the nation's first DNA database for victims of sexual assault. During his career Dr. Breitenecker participated in more than 2000 rape cases where he used the knowledge gained while collecting evidence for city homicides. Because of his work, the Baltimore County Police Department has evidence that dates back more than 30 years. Dr. Breitenecker was also the Founder of GBMC's Rape Care Center in 1975, the precursor to the current SAFE Program, a highly recognized program for victims of sexual assault in Maryland. "In previous years, alleged rape victims were taken to the University of Maryland, where junior personnel examined them after sometimes eight or 10 or 12 hours wait," Breitenecker said. "I thought this was atrocious. Women deserved better care than that." Trained as a forensic pathologist, Dr. Breitenecker took samples of body fluids and other substances from the victims and froze samples from each case, preserving the evidence for the future without some in the department even realizing what he was doing. He was influenced by Paul Kirk, a professor at the University of California Berkeley who first introduced the idea of DNA matching. At first, Dr. Breitenecker thought Kirk was crazy, but he listened and despite skepticism he decided to save samples based on his hunch that science would catch up with DNA use to prove guilt or innocence. Maryland's no statute of limitations on rape has led to peace and closure for many women using Dr. Breitenecker's evidence. According to Sergeant Rose Brady of the Baltimore County Police Department, "as of 2016, we have retrieved 158 SAFE kits and have received 101 CODIS (DNA) hits. We have cleared, by arrest, 84 of these cases. "As far as I know, we are the only police department that has the ability to access evidence from a hospital that saved the doctor's slides on all rapes." "We would not have as many CODIS hits on cold cases going back more than 30 years without his foresight into the future of DNA." And she said personally, "Dr. B. absolutely deserves all the honors that anyone can give him."

At GBMC, Dr. Breitenecker "watched the hospital grow from what was essentially a big family, where everybody knew each other, into a very large institution," he liked to say. "When I came there were two pathologists, now there are seven," he said. Dr. Breitenecker was Medical Director of the Blood Bank for 25 years. He was also Chairman of the Medical Records Committee and an active member of the Pharmacy/Transfusion Committee. Dr. Breitenecker's professional appointments throughout his career included: Associate Pathologist, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland , 1967 -1998; Medical Director, Greater Baltimore Medical Center Blood Bank, Baltimore, Maryland , 1970 – 1998; Director of Rape Care Center, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, 1975 – 1997; Assistant Professor in Forensic Pathology, University of Maryland; l 964 – 1997; Associate Medical Examiner, Baltimore County, 1974 – 1998; Adjunct Professor Justice Administration, University of Louisville, Kentucky, 1978 -present; Assistant Medical Examiner, State of Maryland, 1962 - 1967 Lecturer in School of Medicine (Forensic Pathology); The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, 1979 – 1984; Lecturer in School of Hygiene and Public Health, (Forensic Pathology), Johns Hopkins University, 1962 – 1967; Fellow and Instructor in Pathology, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 1961; Demonstrator in Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, 1957 – 1960; Resident in Pathology, Metropolitan General Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, 1957-1960; Surgical Resident, Edward W. Sparrow Hospital, Lansing, Michigan, 1956; Rotating Intern, Edward W. Sparrow Hospital Lansing, Michigan, 1955. Dr. Breitenecker was active in the American Medical Association, American Society of Clinical Pathologists, College of American Pathologists, International Academy of Pathology, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, American Association of Blood Banks, National Association of Medical Examiners Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, The Maryland Society of Pathologists, the Baltimore County Medical Society, the Austrian Society of Forensic Medicine, and the German Society of Forensic Medicine. He was appointed to following professional committees: the Maryland Society of Pathologists: Nominating Committee, Chairman 1972 - 1977 Blood Bank Committee, Chairman 1977 - 1981 Councilor-at-Large 1977 -1980, Delegate to CAP, 1981 – 1984, President, Maryland Society of Pathologists 1988, 1989, Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland: Traffic Safety (Transportation) Committee, Chairman 1971 – 1981, Legislative Committee - 1988 Delegate from Baltimore County 1981 – 1982, Medicolegal Committee 1989, the Baltimore County Medical Association: Legislative Committee, Chairman, 1983. If you are interested in more information
about Dr. Breitenecker's life, please visit ProPublica's website at ProPublica — Investigative Journalism and News in the Public Interest and search under his name. One reader commented recently that, "I won't soon forget him and his foresight to take and retain samples from rape victims DECADES before DNA evidence was widely available. Or his personal history."

Dr. Breitenecker is survived by his devoted wife of sixty years, Robin, who continues to enjoy her retirement boarding horses at her home Broadacre Farm and managing her award-winning English style gardens. He raised three successful sons his eldest Rudiger Jr., an attorney in Manhattan who lives with his wife Ann Marie in Connecticut. His middle son, Richard, a financial executive who lives with his wife, Sue, and their two children, Emily and Allie, in Chicago, and Roland, a financial executive in Manhattan who lives with his wife Joo In, and their son Luke, in New York. He is survived by his two brothers, Gerhard and Werner in Vienna, Austria and many extended family members in Austria and in the U.S. He was predeceased by his sister Lizbeth and brother Manfred.

The family would like to thank all of Dr. Breitenecker's amazing caregivers, Tracy Bruce, Sweetdy, Martha Lynn, Mary, Henrietta, Adrienne, David D, Henry, to name just a few of his part time aids, the entire staff at GBMC and Dr. Chessare, Fresenius Kidney Care and Dr. Gimenez his nephrologist, all of his wheelchair van drivers for their compassionate care.

We leave you with a favorite poem Dr. Breitenecker cherished written into a Broadacre Farm Guest book by a dear deceased friend and neighbor, Harry Love, "Pure water is the best of gifts that man to man can bring, but who am I that I should have the best of anything? Let princes revel at the pump, let peers with ponds make free, whisky, or wine, or even beer is good enough for me." Harry Love Anon. In the Spectator, July 31, 1920. Attributed to Hon. G. W. E. Russell, also to Lord Neaves. Several versions given in Notes and Queries, Oct. 23, 1897.

Memorial Services will be held on Saturday November 27, 2021 at St. Johns Episcopal Church in Glyndon, MD. Additional services will be held in Vienna, Austria following the U.S. ceremony.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the GBMC SAFE program at www.gbmc.org/safe