Coroner

Duties of the Coroner's Office

• Be on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Receive all reports of sudden, unexpected or unexplained deaths.
• Respond to all sudden, unexpected or unexplained deaths.
• In the absence of a physician, pronounce death.
• Take custody of the body and all articles on or near the body.
• Maintain chain of custody of the body and all articles obtained.
• Conduct an investigation leading to the determination of the cause and manner of death.
• Determine if an autopsy is required depending upon the circumstances of the death.
• If necessary, arrange for toxicology and other necessary tests that will aid in the determination of the cause and manner of death.
• Certify the cause and manner of death on the death certificate. The manner of death shall be one of the following: natural, accident, suicide, homicide or undetermined.
• Properly dispose of human remains through release to family, their designated funeral homes entities or municipalities if indigent or without next of kin.
• Provide accurate identification of all human remains when possible.
• Cooperate with other agencies having involvement with death investigation.
• Contact family members, law enforcement (e.g. law enforcement, public health, NTSB, OSHA, Fire Marshal, etc) health care professionals, and the public through the media, assist mortuaries in facilitating the prompt release of a decedent for a funeral or other arrangements for the family.
• Provide professional, objective testimony in state and local courts of law.
• Define procedures that establish fees for services and materials provided by the Fayette County Coroner's Office.
• Establish and maintain disaster plans outlining the role of the Fayette County Coroner's office staff.
• Maintain records of each official death investigation and provide completed reports to official agencies including:
  • Law Enforcement Agency
  • Health Department Registrar
  • County Clerk of Courts
• Report deaths of children under the age of 2 years old.
• Prepare for the Board of Commissioners an Annual Report.
• Report SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), environmental deaths and OVDRS (Ohio Violent Death Reporting System) to the proper agency.

The Fayette County Coroner's Office is pleased to release this 2013 Annual Report (PDF). The purpose of the report is to enable the County Commissioners, Law Enforcement, the Fayette County Health Department, and the general public to better acquaint themselves with the activities of our office, as well as to provide ongoing statistical analysis of past and current deaths in the county and to serve as a tool for future planning.