1. Law Enforcement and Coroners Working Together In Crime Scene Investigations

2. TYPES OF SCENES Death Scenes Death not from criminal activity Natural, Accident, Suicide Crime Scenes Death from criminal activity Homicide

3. Law Enforcement Goals Has a crime been committed ? –Who is it? –What happened? –When did it happen? –Where did it happen? –Why did it happen? –How was it done? If yes, Who did it ?

4. Coroner’s Office Goals Has a crime been committed ? –Who is it? –What happened ? –When did it happen ? –Where did it happen ? –Why did it happen ? –How was it done ? Yes or No,What is the Cause and Manner of Death ?

5. Cause and Manner of Death Cause of death Any condition that leads to or contributes to death. There are many causes of death Manner of death Explains how the cause of death came about There are only five manners of death: –Homicide, Suicide, Accident, Natural, Undetermined

6. When Do You Need a Coroner? (per KRS statutes) Homicide Suicide Drugs or Poisons Auto Accident Police Custody Jail Custody Fire or Explosion Child Abuse Under age 40 without medical history Skeletonized remains Drowning Infant deaths Work Accident General Accidents Not under physician care Body to be Cremated All deaths other than natural death Circumstances of death cannot rule out a crime

7. Who Has Jurisdiction at a Crime Scene?

8. Both of us

9. Law Enforcement Jurisdiction Authority in Crime Scenes –Scene security –Leads the criminal investigation –See to the safety and possession of any firearms –Responsible for the identification of the perpetrator

10. Coroner’s Office Jurisdiction Authority in Crime Scenes –Leads the death investigation –Has jurisdiction of the body and close area –Physical evidence associated with Body Clothing, personal effects, medication, etc. –Determines further examinations/tests

11. Responsibilities of the Coroner We assume jurisdiction for the body and the area around the body, the clothing, personal effects, and the physical evidence associated with the body We determine the relationship of the body to the scene of death, before the body is moved or removed, in order to interpret injuries observed later in postmortem examination and/or autopsy

12. We prevent alteration, contamination, destruction, or concealment of evidence necessary to identify the decedent and determine a cause and manner of death We recognize materials at the scene used for attempts at treatment or resuscitation of the victim

13. We prepare an objective description of physical evidence related to the victim, such as clothing, personal effects, blood or body fluid stains, drugs or alcohol, and weapons We collect medications for documentation and proper disposal

14. We establish and maintain a chain of custody of the body, as well as for clothing and any physical evidence associated with the body We protect personal effects and valuables from theft; we document and return them to the NOK or a representative of the NOK

15. How the Coroner’s Office Supports Law Enforcement We provide you with the medical evidence that may be crucial for establishment of a crime We work together, side by side, sharing information and consulting each other on crucial matters We provide death investigators trained in evidence preservation, scene documentation, and chain of evidence issues

16. How Law Enforcement Can Help The Coroner’s Office Secure the scene, keeping all non-essential persons out of the scene Please do not alter the scene Please do not move the body Please do not move or remove any clothing Please do not move or remove any item from the body or immediate area

17. Please do not touch or clean any wounds Please do not remove any weapons from the scene unless due to a safety issue In crime scenes, cover the body with a clean plastic tarp In other cases where it’s not a crime scene, its OK to cover the body with a clean sheet

18. REMEMBER Bad Guys go to jail when we Work together Share information Consult each other Help each other Respect each other

19. And when the Public sees us work well together They see professionalism in their local public services, and take pride in them

20. THANK YOU ! We look forward to working with you in the years to come !