Autopsy is inconclusive in death of Orange County doctor

An autopsy for a well-known Orange County trauma surgeon who was found dead in her swimming pool was inconclusive.

Marianne E. Cinat, director of the UC Irvine Regional Burn Center, was found dead Saturday by a close friend at Cinat’s home in unincorporated Rossmoor, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Further tests will determine the cause of death, Amormino said.

"There’s a wide range of possibilities," he said, adding that nothing about the case stood out as highly suspicious.

Test results will take between five and eight weeks while the department continues its investigation.

John Murray, a spokesman for UC Irvine Medical Center, said in a statement that the community is devastated by the loss of Cinat and called her "an outstanding surgeon whose skill and compassion touched the lives of hundreds of burn survivors and their families."

"She was a wonderful colleague, friend and mentor whose presence will be deeply missed," he said.

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-- Nicole Santa Cruz in Costa Mesa

Photo: Dr. Marianne Cinat in 2000. Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times