“Had he not been punched, this pain would have come out of nowhere, and he might have gone and sought medical attention sooner. So the punch was very likely just a very poorly timed accident that caused him to not pay attention to what was really happening to him medically.”

John Cox · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-31

Cox argued the stomach punches were likely a poorly timed accident that caused Houdini to ignore symptoms of appendicitis.