Bloodlines
After dermatologist David Cornbleet was murdered in his Michigan Avenue office, his son, Jonathan, devoted himself to finding the killer. Now a shy and troubled young man—a former patient of Dr. Cornbleet's—has confessed. But that man's anguished father is arguing that a drug prescribed by the slain doctor may have contributed to the killing.
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Happier times: David and Jon Cornbleet pose with puppies, a gift from father to son.
By all accounts, the small 12th-floor complex of examination rooms where Dr. David Cornbleet practiced for nearly three decades bore the look and feel of an old country doctor's office, a throwback to the days when patient records were scribbled on index cards and folders spilled from metal filing cabinets—a place redolent of camphor and rubbing alcohol. The floors were carpeted, the blinds metal. There was no computer.
As for the man who ran the practice, if you were casting the part of the kindly neighborhood doc, you could scarcely have done better than Cornbleet, who was 64 when he died. With his wire-rimmed glasses, silver-daubed hair, and friendly, thoughtful eyes, he knew most of his patients by their first names, and if he didn't, he would by their next visit. Other dermatologists booked their appointments weeks in advance. Dr. Cornbleet always seemed able to squeeze in last-minute visits, particularly if the patient came to him with an emergency—a bride, say, with a wedding day blemish. He did so, his son says, by staying after hours, sometimes until 7 or 8 p.m. His rates were flexible, his payment terms generous. His father, Theodore Cornbleet, had been a dermatologist—had served, in fact, as head of dermatology at Cook County Hospital. The very office in which David Cornbleet practiced, in the 30 North Michigan Avenue building, had been passed along to him by the elder Cornbleet, as had the initialed blue lab coat David wore to all of his appointments.
David Cornbleet's children, Jonathan and Jocelyn, also had ties to the office, helping out during school breaks when they were young, and later, after they were grown, going in on weekends to do their father's paperwork. "Dad and I used to have father-daughter days," recalls Jocelyn, 28, a Loop lawyer specializing in environmental and asbestos issues. "We'd go downtown to Marshall Field's, to see the windows if it was Thanksgiving, then stop by the office."
"My sister and I pretty much grew up there," agrees Jon, a 33-year-old insurance salesman. "It was a very, very old-school office. It reminded me of the old-time barbershop. My father would ask patients about their husbands, their wives, their friends; about college, their dreams. It was more like a social hour with him. He spent an exorbitant amount of time with each person, mostly because he looked on them as friends as well as patients."
Apropos of the doctor's old-school approach, he worked by himself, choosing not to replace his long-term secretary when she retired years earlier. Instead, patients called or knocked on the door, an arrangement that made both daughter and son uneasy. "I never liked the fact that he worked alone," the son told me.
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Photograph: Courtesy of Jonathan Cornbleet
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Reader Comments:
My heart really goes out to Jon Cornbleet. He is a real hero and something should be done to grant him the justice he so badly has worked so hard for. He is somebody I greatly admire and respect. I think that Jon Cornbleet is the next John Walsh.
I really hate France for making this nightmare continue for him.
This is an excellent article. I am very impressed with the class and respect that Jon Cornbleet always shows.
Jon Cornbleet is a real life hero and somebody we should all aspire to be. I sit here and can not believe not only how strong a person he is, but how wonderful a son he is to his father. Jon's pursuit of justice is so admirable.
This is such a sad tragedy. Hans Peterson is a scum and shame on France for not extraditing this guy.
Why is France not extraditing him? He visited France a dozen or so times and thus he is protected under their laws? No wonder EVERYBODY hates the French. I think that what they are doing is criminal and I hold France personally responsible for aiding and abedding a confessed murderer.
I am very touched by the dedication and determination of Dr. Cornbleet's son. I think that all of us inside wish that we had the heart and courage that he does.
I have been following this sad tragedy since it happened. I think that John's persistency and determination is so honorable and such an ode to his love of his father. He shows a lot of class toward the Peterson family which is admirable.
Shame on France. I thought that the new President wanted to be different yet it is the same old song and dance with France. I will never visit or support those jerks.
who ever came up with the website/myspace idea was a genius
Excellent article. I never thought about the impact on the Peterson family. I now feel a great deal of sympathy for them (excepting Hans) as well.
Hans Peterson should be extradited and face his crime. You cannot tell me that in 4 years, he did not have one single lucid moment where he could have expressed and sought help for his feelings of anger. There are many medications that will help a psychotic individual function in society without murdering others.
Excellent article. I am saddened by the tragedy of Dr Cornbleet. He was the greatest doctor that I was ever fortunate to know. I miss his wisdom and humor tremendously.
Kudos have to be given to the son of Dr Cornbleet who has become a real life hero.
I can assure you that I or nobody that I know will ever support the French again. I think that they are obstructing justice and should be ashamed of themselves for not extraditing an American citizen.
It would appear that no one is addressing the issue that Hans only took this drug twice, from his own fathers' admission. Unless I missed it somewhere!? How about having someone, who is qualified to do so, evaluate the effects it can have on a person: same height, weight and gender, as Hans, having only taken the drug twice as well as compared to those mentioned in the article that the drug had a psychotic effect on (in terms of how long, etc., they took it). Let's get some conclusive evidence that it was the drug FIRST. In addition, someone else said it, he had more than enough time, Hans and his father, to seek help (or intervene on behalf of his son) before this happened. This is an unforgiveable crime, and he should pay. And ditto, SHAME ON FRANCE for even becoming involved: whether he was there once or a dozen times, in my opinion, it does not matter - he didn't live there!
Just a horrible crime and plan by Tom Peterson to distract attention from a first degree murder to two pills of vitamin a. Not to say that I wouldn’t do the same if this was my son, but it is clear that the Peterson family feels so much shame that they will do anything to transfer the blame. They are loosing a son in all of this, so it is OK to feel sympathy for them, but if one really reads between the lines of this story, Tom Ps previous comments, and even Hans’ posting on the Asberg blog, it is clear that Hans was an unguided child from the start. It seems that Top P may never really have known Hans, and only now is getting involved in his life by starting a crusade against accutatne. Perhaps this is noble cause or just a way for him to make up for lost time. Either way if wants to build support for his cause he should do everything in his power to get his son back to the US, including hitting the media in the same format and volume that the Cornbleets did.
I think it is time for France to update their law of 1927.