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| Home > Statutes > Usa Missouri |
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USA Statutes : missouri
Title : COUNTY, TOWNSHIP AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISION GOVERNMENT
Chapter : Chapter 58 Coroners and Inquests
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In each county of the state, except in counties of the second
class which prior to January 1, 1975, have a population of more than one
hundred twenty thousand and less than two hundred thousand, and counties
of the first class not having a charter form of government and any other
county which adopts the provisions of sections 58.700 through 58.765,
there shall be an office of coroner. (L. 1945 p. 1404 § 1, A.L. 1973 S.B.
122)
At the general election in the year 1948, and every four years
thereafter, the qualified electors of the county at large in each county
in this state in which a coroner is to be elected shall elect a coroner
who shall be commissioned by the governor, and who shall hold his office
for a term of four years and until his successor is duly elected or
appointed and qualified. Each coroner shall enter upon the duties of his
office on the first day of January next after his election. (L. 1945 p.
1404 § 2, A. 1949 H.B. 2016, A.L. 1973 S.B. 122)
No person shall be elected or appointed to the office of coroner
unless he be a citizen of the United States, over the age of twenty-one
years, and shall have resided within the state one whole year, and within
the county for which he is elected, six months next preceding the
election. (L. 1945 p. 1404 § 3)
When any vacancy shall occur in the office of coroner by death,
resignation, removal, refusal to act, or in any other manner, it shall be
the duty of the governor to fill such vacancy by appointing some eligible
person to such office. The person so appointed shall take the oath, give
bond and otherwise qualify for the office as required of coroners
regularly elected, and shall discharge the duties of such office for the
remainder of the term for which he is appointed. (L. 1945 p. 1404 § 4)
All coroners, before they enter upon the duties of their office,
shall take the oath prescribed by the constitution, and shall give bond
to the state of Missouri, in the penalty of at least one thousand
dollars, with sufficient sureties, residents of the county, conditioned
for the faithful performance of the duties of their office. (RSMo 1939 §
13228)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11609; 1919 § 5917; 1909 § 2922
The county commission shall, once in every year, in each county
where a coroner is elected, examine into the sufficiency of the official
bond given by the coroner, and the sureties thereto; and if it shall
appear that the bond of any coroner, or the sureties thereto, are
insufficient, the commission shall cause a record thereof to be made by
their clerk, and shall give notice thereof to the coroner, and require
him to give a new bond, to the satisfaction of the commission, within
such time as they shall order. (RSMo 1939 § 13229, A.L. 1973 S.B. 122)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11610; 1919 § 5918; 1909 § 2923
If a coroner neglect to give bond and qualify within twenty days
after his election, or shall fail to give bond when required under the
preceding section, his office shall be deemed vacant. (RSMo 1939 § 13230)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11611; 1919 § 5919; 1909 § 2924
In all counties of the second class in which a coroner is
required by section 58.010, the coroner shall receive an annual salary in
lieu of all fees, charges, emoluments, and money due to, or receivable
by, the coroner, by virtue of any statute, for services rendered. (L.
1945 p. 1560 § 1, L. 1953 p. 384 § 1, A.L. 1959 S.B. 69, A.L. 1973 S.B.
122, A.L. 1987 S.B. 65, et al.)
Effective 1-1-88
1. The county coroner in any county, other than in a first
classification chartered county, shall receive an annual salary computed
on a basis as set forth in the following schedule. The provisions of this
section shall not permit or require a reduction in the amount of
compensation being paid for the office of coroner on January 1, 1997:
Assessed Valuation Salary $ 18,000,000 to 40,999,999 $8,000 41,000,000 to
53,999,999 8,500 54,000,000 to 65,999,999 9,000 66,000,000 to 85,999,999
9,500 86,000,000 to 99,999,999 10,000 100,000,000 to 130,999,999 11,000
131,000,000 to 159,999,999 12,000 160,000,000 to 189,999,999 13,000
190,000,000 to 249,999,999 14,000 250,000,000 to 299,999,999 15,000
300,000,000 or more 16,000
2. One thousand dollars of the salary authorized in this section shall be
payable to the coroner only if the coroner has completed at least twenty
hours of classroom instruction each calendar year relating to the
operations of the coroner's office when approved by a professional
association of the county coroners of Missouri unless exempted from the
training by the professional association. The professional association
approving the program shall provide a certificate of completion to each
coroner who completes the training program and shall send a list of
certified coroners to the treasurer of each county. Expenses incurred for
attending the training session may be reimbursed to the county coroner in
the same manner as other expenses as may be appropriated for that purpose.
3. The county coroner in any county, other than a first classification
charter county, shall not, except upon two-thirds vote of all the members
of the salary commission, receive an annual compensation in an amount
less than the total compensation being received for the office of county
coroner in the particular county for services rendered or performed on
the date the salary commission votes.
4. For the term beginning in 1997, the compensation of the coroner, in
counties in which the salary commission has not voted to pay one hundred
percent of the maximum allowable salary, shall be a percentage of the
maximum allowable salary established by this section. The percentage
applied shall be the same percentage of the maximum allowable salary
received or allowed, whichever is greater, to the presiding commissioner
or sheriff, whichever is greater, of that county for the year beginning
January 1, 1997. In those counties in which the salary commission has
voted to pay one hundred percent of the maximum allowable salary, the
compensation of the coroner shall be based on the maximum allowable
salary in effect at each time a coroner's term of office commences
following the vote to pay one hundred percent of the maximum allowable
compensation. Subsequent compensation shall be determined as provided in
section 50.333, RSMo.
5. Effective January 1, 1997, the county coroner in any county, other
than a county of the first classification with a charter form of
government, may, upon the approval of the county commission, receive
additional compensation for any month during which investigations or
other services are performed for three or more decedents in the same
incident during such month. The additional compensation shall be an
amount that when added to the regular compensation the sum shall equal
the monthly compensation of the county sheriff. (L. 1987 S.B. 65, et al.
§ 5, A.L. 1988 S.B. 431, A.L. 1990 S.B. 580, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1486, A.L.
1996 S.B. 693, A.L. 1997 S.B. 11)
Each deputy county coroner upon certification by the Missouri
Coroners and Medical Examiners Association of attendance at a training
program required by the provisions of subsection 2 of section 58.095
shall receive annual compensation, in addition to other compensation, of
one thousand dollars per year so long as subsection 2 of section 58.095
remains in effect. This additional compensation shall be paid in the same
manner and at the same times as other compensation is paid to the deputy
county coroner. The provisions of this section shall not permit or
require a reduction in the amount of compensation received by any person
holding the office of deputy county coroner on January 1, 1989. (L. 1989
S.B. 389 § 1, A.L. 2003 S.B. 376)
The coroner in counties of the third and fourth classes, shall
charge and collect on behalf of the county every fee accruing to his
office by law, except such fees as are chargeable to the county, and
shall report and pay such fees over to the county treasurer in the manner
provided by law. (L. 1945 p. 992 § 2, L. 1945 p. 1551 § 2, A. 1949 H.B.
2016)
In each county of the third and fourth classifications, the
county commission shall allow the coroner, payable at the end of each
month out of the county treasury, the amount provided under section
50.333, RSMo, for each mile actually and necessarily traveled in the
performance of the coroner's official duties. (L. 1945 p. 992 § 1a, A.L.
1961 p. 300, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1486)
The coroner, in all counties in this state in which a coroner is
required by section 58.010 may have a deputy. In such counties which now
contain or may hereafter contain a city of seventy-five thousand
inhabitants and less than two hundred thousand inhabitants, may have such
a number of deputies and assistants, to be recommended by the coroner and
appointed by the county commission as deemed necessary for the prompt and
proper discharge of the duties of his office, and such deputies and
assistants shall be divided into classes as follows: Class "A",
assistants or deputies; class "B", assistants or deputies; class "C",
office clerks and copyists. Class "A" assistants or deputies shall be
paid sixteen hundred and eighty dollars per year. Class "B" assistants or
deputies shall be paid fifteen hundred dollars per year. Class "C" office
clerks and copyists shall be paid twelve hundred dollars per year. All
other counties shall appoint a deputy coroner, at the request of and upon
the recommendation of the coroner, who may discharge all duties and
exercise all powers of the coroner, and shall receive the compensation of
the coroner while serving in the coroner's absence, be compensated as
provided by the county commission or serve without compensation. (RSMo
1939 § 13489, A. 1949 H.B. 2016, A.L. 1973 S.B. 122, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1164,
A.L. 1994 H.B. 1486)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11857; 1919 § 11065
A coroner shall be a conservator of the peace throughout his
county, and shall take inquests of violent and casual deaths happening in
the same, or where the body of any person coming to his death shall be
discovered in his county. (RSMo 1939 § 13227, A.L. 1989 S.B. 127, et al.)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11608; 1919 § 5916; 1909 § 2921
Every coroner, within the county for which he is elected or
appointed, shall serve and execute all writs and precepts, and perform
all other duties of the sheriff, when the sheriff shall be a party, or
when it shall appear to the court out of which the process shall issue,
or to the clerk thereof, in vacation, that the sheriff is interested in
the suit, related to or prejudiced against any party thereto, or in any
wise disqualified from acting; in such case, the county commission may
require the coroner to give an additional bond. (RSMo 1939 § 13144)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11524; 1919 § 11648; 1909 § 11218
(1964) Where defendant made oral motion to quash jury panel on ground it
was summoned by sheriff who was prosecuting witness for the first time on
the day of trial, and in view of fact that it was the regular venire
selected by the jury commission and defendant conceded no wrongdoing of
sheriff in summoning the jury, and in view of fact that defendant waited
until the last minute and venire panel was in attendance, it was not
error for court to overrule motion to quash but court's calling the panel
into the box without having them summoned or resummoned by the coroner
was error. State v. Parker (A.), 378 S.W.2d 274.
(1968) Sheriff who was candidate in election under contest was not
qualified to serve summons on contestee and attempted service was
insufficient to confer jurisdiction. Jones v. Buckley (Mo.), 425 S.W.2d
204.
(1973) Held that jury panel summoned by coroner where sheriff was
"interested" in case should not be quashed because some of jurors
summoned by coroner were the same persons formerly summoned by the
sheriff for the regular jury panel. State v. Lawson (A.), 501 S.W.2d 176.
When the office of sheriff shall be vacant, by death or
otherwise, the coroner of the county is authorized to perform all the
duties which are by law required to be performed by the sheriff, until
another sheriff for such county shall be appointed and qualified, and
such coroner shall have notice thereof, and in such case, said coroner
may appoint one or more deputies, with the approbation of the judge of
the circuit court; and every such appointment, with the oath of office
endorsed thereon, shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the
circuit court of the county. (RSMo 1939 § 13145)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11525; 1919 § 11649; 1909 § 11219
The sheriff of the proper county or his chief deputy shall, in
the temporary absence of the coroner and deputy for any reason, perform
all the duties imposed by law upon the coroner. (L. 1951 p. 374 § 58.005,
A.L. 1986 H.B. 1164)
1. In addition to all other duties imposed by law, the coroner of
the city of St. Louis shall certify and file with the state registrar of
vital statistics a death certificate in manner and form as provided by
section 193.160, RSMo, for the death of all persons buried by his office
for which the city received reimbursement for the cost of such burial
from the federal government under the provisions of the Federal Social
Security Act.
2. For the performance of the duties imposed by this section, the coroner
shall receive, in addition to all other compensation provided by law, the
sum of seven thousand dollars per year to be paid in equal monthly
installments as other official salaries in the city are paid. (L. 1972
H.B. 195)
Every coroner, having been notified of the dead body of any
person, supposed to have come to his or her death by violence or
casualty, being found within his county, may make out his or her warrant,
directed to the sheriff of the county where the dead body is found,
requiring him or her forthwith to summon a jury of six good and lawful
citizens of the county, to appear before such coroner, at the time and
place in his or her warrant expressed, and to inquire how and by whom he
or she came to his or her death. (RSMo 1939 § 13231, A.L. 1945 p. 990,
A.L. 2002 H.B. 2002 merged with S.B. 1113)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11612; 1919 § 5920; 1909 § 2925
CROSS REFERENCE: Powers and duties of prosecuting attorney in third and
fourth class counties in regard to inquests which may result in charges
of felony, RSMo 56.300
The sheriff to whom such warrant shall be directed shall
forthwith execute the same, and shall repair to the place where the
inquest is to be held at the time mentioned, and make return of the
warrant, with his proceedings thereon, to the coroner who granted the
same. (RSMo 1939 § 13232, A.L. 1945 p. 990, A.L. 2002 H.B. 2002 merged
with S.B. 1113)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11613; 1919 § 5921; 1909 § 2926
Any sheriff failing to execute such warrant or to return the same
shall forfeit and pay the sum of eight dollars. (RSMo 1939 § 13233, A.L.
1945 p. 990)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11614; 1919 § 5922; 1909 § 2927
Every person summoned as a juror, who shall fail to appear, or
make a reasonable excuse to the coroner for his nonattendance, within
five days after the time appointed within the warrant, shall forfeit and
pay the sum of five dollars, which fine shall be recoverable by civil
action at the instance of the coroner, and in the name of the state,
before any associate circuit judge, and be applied to the use of the
county. (RSMo 1939 § 13234)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11615; 1919 § 5923; 1909 § 2928
The coroner shall administer an oath or affirmation to the
jurors, in the following form:
You solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will diligently inquire and true
presentment make, how and by whom the person who here lies dead came to
his death, and you shall deliver to me, coroner of this county, a true
inquest thereof, according to such evidence as shall be laid before you
and according to your knowledge. (RSMo 1939 § 13235)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11616; 1919 § 5924; 1909 § 2929
As soon as the jury shall be sworn, the coroner shall give them a
charge, upon their oaths, to declare of the death of the person, whether
he or she died by felony or accident; and if of felony, who were the
principals and who were accessories, and if the act was justified, and
all the material circumstances relating thereto; and if by accident,
whether by the act of man, and the manner thereof, and who was present,
and who was the finder of the body, and whether he or she was killed in
the same place where the body was found, and, if elsewhere, by whom, and
how the body was brought there, and all other circumstances relating to
the death; and if he or she died of his or her own act, then the manner
and means thereof, and the circumstances relating thereto. (RSMo 1939 §
13236, A.L. 2002 H.B. 2002 merged with S.B. 1113)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11617; 1919 § 5925; 1909 § 2930
When the jury are sworn they shall remain together, and
proclamation shall be made for any persons who can give evidence to draw
near, and they shall be heard; provided, however, when there are women
members of a jury, they may separate from the men members of the jury, if
any, when not receiving evidence or deliberating upon their verdict.
(RSMo 1939 § 13237, A.L. 1945 p. 991)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11618; 1919 § 5926; 1909 § 2931
CROSS REFERENCE: Prosecuting attorney in third and fourth class counties
to attend inquest, RSMo 56.300
Every coroner shall be empowered to issue his or her summons for
witnesses, and such evidence, documents, and materials of substance,
commanding them to come before him or her to be examined, and to declare
their knowledge concerning the matter in question. (RSMo 1939 § 13238,
A.L. 2002 H.B. 2002 merged with S.B. 1113)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11619; 1919 § 5927; 1909 § 2932
He or she shall administer to them an oath or affirmation in form
as follows:
You do swear (or affirm) that the evidence you shall give to the inquest,
concerning the death of the person here dead, shall be the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. (RSMo 1939 § 13239, A.L. 2002
H.B. 2002 merged with S.B. 1113)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11620; 1919 § 5928; 1909 § 2933
The evidence of such witnesses shall be taken down in writing and
subscribed by them, and if it relate to the trial of any person concerned
in the death, then the coroner shall bind such witnesses, by
recognizance, in a reasonable sum for their appearance before the court
having criminal jurisdiction of the county where the felony appears to
have been committed, at the next term thereof, there to give evidence;
and he shall return to the same court the inquisition, written evidence
and recognizance by him taken. (RSMo 1939 § 13240)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11621; 1919 § 5929; 1909 § 2934
The jury, having viewed the body by photographic, electronic, or
other means, heard the evidence, and made all the inquiry in their power,
shall draw up and deliver to the coroner their verdict upon the death
under consideration, in writing under their hand, and the same shall be
signed by the coroner. (RSMo 1939 § 13241, A.L. 2002 H.B. 2002 merged
with S.B. 1113)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11622; 1919 § 5930; 1909 § 2935
The coroner, upon an inquisition found before him of the death of
any person by the felony of another, shall speedily inform one or more
associate circuit judges of the proper county, or some judge or justice
of some court of record, and it shall be the duty of such officer
forthwith to issue his process for the apprehension and securing for
trial of such person. (RSMo 1939 § 13242, A.L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11623; 1919 § 5931; 1909 § 2936
Effective 1-2-79
1. In all counties in which a coroner is required by section
58.010, the coroner shall, upon holding an inquest and securing the
jury's verdict on the inquest, immediately file a record of the
proceedings in the office of the prosecuting attorney.
2. In all such counties where investigation by the coroner shows no
inquest to be necessary, the coroner shall file a written report with the
prosecuting attorney setting forth the facts and circumstances
surrounding the case, together with his conclusions and the action taken.
The cost of the additional transcript hereby required shall be paid from
county funds.
3. The coroner or his deputy shall contact the appropriate family member
or legal representative of the deceased within six hours from discovery
of death regarding disposition of the body. There shall be no
solicitation by the coroner or his deputy regarding the funeral
arrangements of the deceased. If no family member or legal representative
can be found within six hours, the coroner shall order the embalming of
the deceased body and the cost of such embalming shall be paid by a
family member or the deceased's legal representative when found. If no
family member or legal representative can be found within ten days from
the time the body was discovered, the provisions of section 58.460 shall
apply. Any act of solicitation prohibited under this section shall also
be grounds for removal under sections 106.230 to 106.290, RSMo. (L. 1953
p. 384 § 1, A.L. 1973 S.B. 122, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1164, A.L. 1989 S.B. 389)
Whenever it shall appear to the satisfaction of the coroner that
any person, duly subpoenaed to appear before him at an inquest, shall
have failed, without just cause, to attend as a witness in conformity to
the command of such subpoena, and it appears to the satisfaction of the
coroner that the testimony of such witness is material, the coroner shall
have power to issue an attachment to compel the attendance of such
witness at such inquest. (RSMo 1939 § 13260)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11641; 1919 § 5949; 1909 § 2954
Every such attachment may be directed to any constable or sheriff
of the district, city or county in which the witness resides, and shall
be executed in the same manner as a warrant in a criminal case, and the
fees of the officer for issuing and serving the same shall be paid by the
person against whom the same shall have been issued, unless he show
reasonable cause for his omission to attend, in which case the costs
shall be taxed as in cases of attachment of witnesses in criminal cases.
(RSMo 1939 § 13261, A. 1949 H.B. 2016)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11642; 1919 § 5950; 1909 § 2955
If the sheriff is unable to execute the duties required by this
chapter, the officer taking the inquest may direct his warrant to any
householder of the county, who shall perform the duties of sheriff, be
subject to the same penalties, and entitled to the same fees. (RSMo 1939
§ 13244, A.L. 1945 p. 990)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11625; 1919 § 5933; 1909 § 2938
If any witness so attached shall show reasonable excuse for not
appearing, as required by the subpoena, he shall be discharged, either
with or without the payment of the costs of the attachment, at the
discretion of the coroner, but if he fail to show any good and sufficient
reason for not attending, he shall be fined in such sum as the coroner
shall think reasonable to impose, not exceeding ten dollars, and may be
committed to the city or county jail until such fine and costs are paid,
in like manner as persons may be committed for the nonpayment of fine and
costs in criminal cases, and any fine so imposed and collected shall be
paid into the school fund of the county or city in which the coroner
holds his position. (RSMo 1939 § 13262)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11643; 1919 § 5951; 1909 § 2956
When an inquest shall be continued by the coroner, it shall be
his duty forthwith to call before him all witnesses summoned in the case,
and verbally notify such as may attend to appear before him, to testify
at the inquest on the day set for the continuance of the same, which
verbal notice shall be in all respects as valid as a summons, and the
coroner shall take note of the names of the witnesses so notified. No
further summons shall thereafter issue to any witness so notified, and
such notification shall have the same effect as an original summons, and
may be the basis for an attachment of the witness. (RSMo 1939 § 13263)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11644; 1919 § 5952; 1909 § 2957
When a writ of attachment, issued by the coroner, shall be
executed, the officer may discharge such witness on his entering into
recognizance to the state of Missouri, with sufficient bond, in the sum
of one hundred dollars, with one or more sureties signing the same. The
officer executing the writ is hereby authorized to take the same,
providing for the appearance and due attendance of such witness,
according to the command of such writ. (RSMo 1939 § 13264)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11645; 1919 § 5953; 1909 § 2958
Any person summoned as a witness to appear before the coroner,
and attending, who shall refuse to give evidence which may be lawfully
required to be given by such person, on oath or affirmation, may be
committed to the city or county jail by the coroner, there to remain
without bail until he give such evidence or be discharged by due course
of law. (RSMo 1939 § 13265)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11646; 1919 § 5954; 1909 § 2959
1. If any person within a coroner's or medical examiner's
jurisdiction dies within eight hours of, and as a result of, an accident
involving a motor vehicle, the coroner or medical examiner shall report
the death and circumstances of the accident to the Missouri state highway
patrol in writing. If any person within a coroner's or medical examiner's
jurisdiction dies within eight hours of, and as a result of, an accident
involving a motorized watercraft and was thought to have been the
operator of such watercraft, the coroner or medical examiner shall report
the death and circumstances of the accident to the Missouri state water
patrol in writing. The report required by this subsection shall be made
within five days of the conclusion of the tests required in subsection 2
of this section.
2. The coroner or medical examiner shall make, or cause to be made, such
tests as are necessary to determine the presence and percentage
concentration of alcohol, and drugs if feasible, in the blood of the
deceased. The results of these tests shall be included in the coroner's
or medical examiner's report to the state highway patrol or the Missouri
state water patrol, as required by subsection 1 of this section. (L. 1973
S.B. 41 §§ 1, 2, A.L. 1982 S.B. 513, A.L. 1993 S.B. 180, A.L. 1995 H.B.
217)
The contents of the report and results of any test made pursuant
to the requirements or authorizations of sections 58.445 to 58.449 shall
be used primarily for statistical purposes which do not reveal the
identity of the deceased and shall not be public information. The
contents of the report and the results of any test so made shall be
released upon request to any person involved in the accident, spouse of
or any family member related within the second degree of consanguinity to
a person killed in the accident, attorney for a person involved in the
accident, or insurer of a person involved in the accident or whose
property is involved in an accident for purposes of investigation of any
civil claim or defense. This information shall be released to other
parties only upon the issuance of a subpoena duces tecum by a court of
competent jurisdiction for use in any civil or criminal action arising
out of the accident. (L. 1973 S.B. 41 § 4, A.L. 1982 S.B. 513, A.L. 2000
H.B. 1353)
1. When any person, in any county in which a coroner is required
by section 58.010, dies and there is reasonable ground to believe that
such person died as a result of:
(1) Violence by homicide, suicide, or accident;
(2) Criminal abortions, including those self-induced;
(3) Some unforeseen sudden occurrence and the deceased had not been
attended by a physician during the thirty-six-hour period preceding the
death;
(4) In any unusual or suspicious manner;
(5) Any injury or illness while in the custody of the law or while an
inmate in a public institution; the police, sheriff, law enforcement
officer or official, or any person having knowledge of such a death shall
immediately notify the coroner of the known facts concerning the time,
place, manner and circumstances of the death. Immediately upon receipt of
notification, the coroner or his deputy shall take charge of the dead
body and fully investigate the essential facts concerning the medical
causes of death, including whether by the act of man, and the manner of
death. He may take the names and addresses of witnesses to the death and
shall file this information in his office. The coroner or his deputy
shall take possession of all property of value found on the body, making
exact inventory of such property on his report and shall direct the
return of such property to the person entitled to its custody or
possession. The coroner or his deputy shall take possession of any object
or article which, in his opinion, may be useful in establishing the cause
of death, and deliver it to the prosecuting attorney of the county.
2. When a death occurs outside a licensed health care facility, the first
licensed medical professional or law enforcement official learning of
such death shall contact the county coroner. Immediately upon receipt of
such notification, the coroner or the coroner's deputy shall make the
determination if further investigation is necessary, based on information
provided by the individual contacting the coroner, and immediately advise
such individual of the coroner's intentions.
3. Upon taking charge of the dead body and before moving the body the
coroner shall notify the police department of any city in which the dead
body is found, or if the dead body is found in the unincorporated area of
a county governed by the provisions of sections 58.451 to 58.457, the
coroner shall notify the county sheriff and the highway patrol and cause
the body to remain unmoved until the police department, sheriff or the
highway patrol has inspected the body and the surrounding circumstances
and carefully noted the appearance, the condition and position of the
body and recorded every fact and circumstance tending to show the cause
and manner of death, with the names and addresses of all known witnesses,
and shall subscribe the same and make such record a part of his report.
4. In any case of sudden, violent or suspicious death after which the
body was buried without any investigation or autopsy, the coroner, upon
being advised of such facts, may at his own discretion request that the
prosecuting attorney apply for a court order requiring the body to be
exhumed.
5. The coroner shall certify the cause of death in any case under his
charge when a physician is unavailable to sign a certificate of death.
6. When the cause of death is established by the coroner, he shall file a
copy of his findings in his office within thirty days.
7. If on view of the dead body and after personal inquiry into the cause
and manner of death, the coroner determines that a further examination is
necessary in the public interest, the coroner on his own authority may
make or cause to be made an autopsy on the body. The coroner may on his
own authority employ the services of a pathologist, chemist, or other
expert to aid in the examination of the body or of substances supposed to
have caused or contributed to death, and if the pathologist, chemist, or
other expert is not already employed by the city or county for the
discharge of such services, he shall, upon written authorization of the
coroner, be allowed reasonable compensation, payable by the city or
county, in the manner provided in section 58.530. The coroner shall, at
the time of the autopsy, record or cause to be recorded each fact and
circumstance tending to show the condition of the body and the cause and
manner of death.
8. If on view of the dead body and after personal inquiry into the cause
and manner of death, the coroner considers a further inquiry and
examination necessary in the public interest, he shall make out his
warrant directed to the sheriff of the city or county requiring him
forthwith to summon six good and lawful citizens of the county to appear
before the coroner, at the time and place expressed in the warrant, and
to inquire how and by whom the deceased came to his death.
9. When a person is being transferred from one county to another county
for medical treatment and such person dies while being transferred, the
county from which the person is first removed shall be considered the
place of death and the county coroner of the county from which the person
was being transferred shall be responsible for the certificate of death
and for investigating the cause and manner of the death. If the coroner
or medical examiner in the county in which the person died believes that
further investigation is warranted and a postmortem examination is
needed, such coroner or medical examiner shall have the right to further
investigate and perform the postmortem examination at the expense of such
coroner or medical examiner and shall be responsible for the certificate
of death and for investigating the cause and manner of the death. Such
coroner or medical examiner shall immediately notify the coroner or
medical examiner of the county from which the person was being
transferred of the death of such person and after an investigation is
completed shall notify such coroner or medical examiner of his findings.
If a person does not die while being transferred and is institutionalized
after such transfer and subsequently dies while in such institution, the
coroner or medical examiner of the county in which the person dies shall
immediately notify the coroner or medical examiner of the county from
which such person was transferred of the death of such person. In such
cases, the county in which the deceased was institutionalized shall be
considered the place of death.
10. Except as provided in subsection 9 of this section, if a person dies
in one county and his body is subsequently transferred to another county,
the county coroner or medical examiner where the death occurred shall be
responsible for the certificate of death and for investigating the cause
and manner of the death.
11. In performing his duties, the coroner or medical examiner shall make
reasonable efforts to accommodate organ donation. (L. 1957 p. 334 § 1,
A.L. 1959 H.B. 396, A.L. 1969 p. 118, A.L. 1973 S.B. 122, A.L. 1983 H.B.
477, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1164, A.L. 1989 S.B. 389, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1416, A.L.
1996 H.B. 811)
CROSS REFERENCES: Autopsy, consent required, RSMo 194.115 Pituitary gland
to be retained unless contrary indication by decedent or next of kin,
RSMo 58.770
(1983) Section does not establish private cause of action and therefore a
negligence action cannot be maintained. Lawyer v. Kernodle, 721 F.2d 632.
1. When any person, in any county in which a coroner is required
by section 58.010, dies and there are reasonable grounds to believe that
such person was less than eighteen years of age, who is eligible to
receive a certificate of live birth, the police, sheriff, law enforcement
officer or official, health practitioner or hospital or any person having
knowledge of such a death shall immediately notify the coroner of the
known facts concerning the time, place, manner and circumstances of the
death. The coroner shall notify the division of the child's death
pursuant to section 210.115, RSMo. The coroner shall immediately evaluate
the necessity for child fatality review and shall immediately notify the
chairman of the child fatality review panel. The child fatality review
panel shall be activated within twenty-four hours of such notice to
review any death which includes one or more of the suspicious
circumstances described in the protocol developed by the department of
social services, state technical assistance team pursuant to section
210.194, RSMo.
2. If the coroner determines that the death of the person under age
eighteen years, who is eligible to receive a certificate of live birth,
does not include any suspicious circumstances listed in the protocol, the
coroner shall complete a nonsuspicious child death form provided by the
department of social services, state technical assistance team and have
the form cosigned by the chairman of the child fatality review panel and
forward the original to the department of social services, state
technical assistance team within forty-eight hours of receiving notice of
the child's death.
3. When a child under the age of eighteen years, who is eligible to
receive a certificate of live birth dies, the coroner shall notify a
certified child death pathologist to determine the need for an autopsy.
The certified child death pathologist, in conjunction with the coroner,
shall determine the need for an autopsy. If there is disagreement
concerning the need for the autopsy, the certified child death
pathologist shall make the determination unless the child fatality review
panel, within twelve hours, decides against the certified child death
pathologist.
4. When there is a disagreement regarding the necessity for an autopsy,
the certified child death pathologist shall file a report with the
chairman of the child fatality review panel indicating the basis for the
disagreement. The pathologist's report on the disagreement shall be
included in the report to the department of social services, state
technical assistance team. If an autopsy is determined necessary, the
autopsy shall be performed by a certified child death pathologist within
twenty-four hours of receipt of the body by the pathologist or within
twenty-four hours of the agreement by the pathologist to perform the
autopsy, whichever occurs later.
5. Knowing failure by a coroner to refer a suspicious death of a child
under the age of eighteen years, who is eligible to receive a certificate
of live birth, to a child fatality review panel or to a certified child
death pathologist is a class A misdemeanor. (L. 1991 H.B. 185, A.L. 1994
S.B. 595)
The coroner, in all deaths supposed to have been caused by
violence or in a suspicious or unusual manner or unusual circumstances by
the action of chemical, thermal or electrical agents, or following
abortion, or from diseases resulting from injury or infection, or
suddenly when not disabled by recognizable disease, shall furnish a death
certificate in manner and form as provided by section 193.145, RSMo. The
death certificate shall be filed with the state registrar of vital
statistics within thirty-six hours after the cause of death is known. (L.
1957 p. 334 § 2, A.L. 1959 H.B. 396, A.L. 1969 H.B. 314, A.L. 1973 S.B.
122, A.L. 1983 H.B. 477, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1164, A.L. 1989 S.B. 389)
Any person failing to supply the information required by section
58.451 is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not more
than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not
more than sixty days, or by both the fine and imprisonment. (L. 1957 p.
334 § 3, A.L. 1959 H.B. 396)
Whenever an inquest shall be held, or any case in which the
coroner is involved, if there be no relative or friend of the deceased,
nor any person willing to bury the body, nor any person whose duty it is
to attend to such burial, the coroner shall order the embalming of the
body, procure an inexpensive plain coffin, and cause a grave to be dug
and the body to be conveyed thereto and buried, or shall cause the body
to be cremated and shall cause the cremated remains to be disposed of in
a lawful manner in a marked grave. It shall be the duty of the coroner,
in so doing, to avoid all unnecessary expense, and to render to the
commission an accurate statement of all money expended by him for such
purpose; and the county commission shall make to him a reasonable
allowance for his actual expenses in procuring the coffin, transporting
the deceased to the grave, digging the grave and burying the body, or in
obtaining such cremation and disposition of the cremated remains in a
marked grave; and also a reasonable allowance, according to the
circumstances, for his own time and services in attending to such
preparations and burial, or to such cremation and disposition in a marked
grave. (RSMo 1939 § 13245, A.L. 1989 H.B. 64 merged with S.B. 389)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11626; 1919 § 5934; 1909 § 2939
Whenever an inquest shall be held, and the coroner shall have
good reason to believe that the deceased came to his death by poison
administered by the hand of some person other than the deceased, he may,
at the request of the jury, cause chemical analysis and microscopical
examination of the body of the deceased, or any part of it, to be made;
and the testimony of medical and chemical experts may be introduced for
the purpose of showing how and in what manner the deceased came to his
death; and the coroner shall certify to the county commission of his
county the fact of such analysis or examination, and testimony of such
medical or chemical experts, and that the same was, in his opinion,
necessary to an examination into the cause of the death of the deceased;
and the commission shall allow such fees or compensation for such
analysis, examination or medical or chemical testimony of experts as
shall be deemed by said commission to be just and reasonable. (RSMo 1939
§ 13258)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11639; 1919 § 5947; 1909 § 2952
CROSS REFERENCE: Autopsy, consent required, RSMo 194.115
The coroner, within thirty days after an inquest upon a dead
body, shall deliver to the county or city public administrator any money
or other property that may be found upon the body, unless claimed in the
meantime by the legal representatives of the deceased. If he or she fails
to do so, the public administrator may proceed against him or her for its
recovery by a civil action in the name of the state for the use of the
county or city. (RSMo 1939 § 13266, A.L. 2001 H.B. 745)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11647; 1919 § 5955; 1909 § 2960
Upon delivery of any money to the treasurer, he shall place it to
the credit of the city or county; if it be other property he shall,
within thirty days, sell it at public auction, upon ten days' public
notice, by publication in some newspaper printed in the city or county,
if there be any, and if there be none, then by posting not less than six
written or printed bills, giving notice of time and place of sale of such
other property; and shall, in like manner, place the proceeds to the
credit of the city or county. (RSMo 1939 § 13267)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11648; 1919 § 5956; 1909 § 2961
If the money in the treasury be demanded within five years by the
legal representatives of deceased, the treasurer shall pay it to them,
after deducting all fees and expenses. (RSMo 1939 § 13268)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11649; 1919 § 5957; 1909 § 2962
Coroners shall be allowed fees for their services as follows;
provided, that when persons come to their death at the same time or by
the same casualty, fees shall only be paid as for one examination: For
the view of a dead body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.00 For issuing a
warrant summoning each jury of inquest . .75 For swearing each jury . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 For each subpoena for witnesses (all names
to be put in one subpoena if possible) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
For taking each recognizance (all names to be put in one recognizance) .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 For going from his residence to
the place of viewing a dead body and return, each mile . . . . . . . . .
. . .08 The above fees, together with the fees allowed jurors, constables
and witnesses, in all inquests, shall be paid out of the county treasury
as other demands. For performing the duties of sheriff, the coroners
shall be entitled to the same fees as are for the time being allowed to
sheriffs for the same services. (RSMo 1939 § 13424)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11802; 1919 § 11010; 1909 § 10713
Whenever the coroner, being himself a physician or surgeon, shall
conduct a postmortem examination of the dead body of a person who came to
his death by violence or casualty, and it shall appear to the county
commission that such examination was necessary to ascertain the cause of
such person's death, the county commission may allow the coroner therefor
an additional fee, not exceeding twenty-five dollars, to be paid as his
other fees in views and inquests; but section 58.560 shall not be
construed to apply to any such examination when made by the coroner
himself. (RSMo 1939 § 13257)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11638; 1919 § 5946; 1909 § 2951
For taking down the testimony at an inquest, the coroner shall be
allowed ten cents for every hundred words, and twenty-five cents for
certifying the same. (RSMo 1939 § 13247)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11628; 1919 § 5936; 1909 § 2941
If an inquest is held over the body of a minor, the parent or
conservator of the minor is liable for the costs and expenses of burial.
If the person over whose body an inquest is held has any estate, the cost
and expenses of burial shall be paid out of his estate. If there is no
estate nor person liable and able to pay the expenses, they shall be
allowed by the county commission out of the county treasury. (RSMo 1939 §
13249, A.L. 1959 S.B. 69, A.L. 1983 S.B. 44 & 45)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11630; 1919 § 5938; 1909 § 2943
When a physician, surgeon or pathologist shall be called on by
the coroner, or any associate circuit judge of the county acting as the
coroner, to conduct a postmortem examination, the county commission of
said county shall be authorized to allow such physician, surgeon, or
pathologist to be paid out of the county treasury, such fees or
compensation as shall be deemed by said commission to be just and
reasonable. (RSMo 1939 § 13250, A.L. 1949 p. 298)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11631; 1919 § 5939; 1909 § 2944
The coroner or other officer holding an inquest, as provided for
by this chapter, shall present to the county commission within thirty
days of the termination of the inquest a certified statement of all the
costs and expenses of the inquest, including his own fees, the fees of
jurors, witnesses, constables and others entitled to fees for which the
county is liable; and the county commission shall audit and allow the
same, and shall make a certified copy of the same, without delay, and
deliver such copy to the county treasurer, which copy shall be deemed a
sufficient warrant or order on the treasurer for the payment of the fees
therein specified to each person entitled to such fees. The county
treasurer shall pay to each person on demand, or to his legal
representatives, the fees to which he is thus entitled, and shall take
the proper receipt therefor, and produce the same in his settlements with
the county commission as vouchers for the money so paid out by him. (RSMo
1939 § 13251, A.L. 1957 p. 339)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11632; 1919 § 5940; 1909 § 2945
No costs or fees to the coroner shall be allowed by the county
commission, in any case of the view of or inquest on a dead body, unless
it appears to the commission that the coroner, either before or during
the view or inquest, had reasonable cause to believe that such body was
that of a person who had come to his death by violence or casualty, or
who, being unknown, was found dead within such county; but where any such
inquest or view has been held by the coroner, on a notification by some
person, without reasonable cause to suppose that such dead body was that
of a person unknown, or who had come to his death by violence or
casualty, the person giving such notification, without reasonable cause,
as aforesaid, shall be liable to pay all the costs, fees and expenses of
such view or inquest. (RSMo 1939 § 13252)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11633; 1919 § 5941; 1909 § 2946
Whenever any known person shall have died from any cause other
than violence or casualty, and a certificate of the cause of death is
necessary for the burial of the body of such person, the coroner shall,
at the request of the relatives or friends of such person, hold a view or
inquest on the body, and the person making such request shall pay all
costs, fees and expenses of such inquest or view, nor shall the county be
liable for any of them unless it shall appear to the county commission
that in such a view or inquest there appeared reasonable cause to suspect
that said dead person came to his death by violence or casualty, in which
case the costs, fees and expenses of such view or inquest shall be paid
as in ordinary cases; and although such person may have died from disease
or natural cause, where, under this section, the county is not liable for
the fees, costs and expenses of a view or inquest, and the same cannot be
made out of the person requesting the same, or out of the estate of the
deceased, the county commission may, in its discretion, allow and pay the
fees of necessary witnesses at the view or inquest; but all services of
the coroner, constable and other officers in or about the same shall be
rendered gratuitously, as in the case of a suit by a plaintiff permitted
to sue as a poor person. (RSMo 1939 § 13253)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11634; 1919 § 5942; 1909 § 2947
Any coroner who shall knowingly charge to any person, or present
to the county commission for allowance, any items of fees, costs and
expenses not authorized by law, or for any service not actually
performed, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction
thereof, shall forthwith be removed from office. Such removal shall be
declared in the judgment for such misdemeanor, and thereupon the office
of such coroner shall be declared vacant, and his successor appointed
according to law. (RSMo 1939 § 13254)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11635; 1919 § 5943; 1909 § 2948
The county commission may authorize and require the coroner to
pay, at the view or inquest itself, the legal fees due to jurors,
witnesses and interpreters at the same, out of money to be advanced to
him, from time to time, out of the county funds, and for the legal
disbursement of which he and his sureties shall be liable on his official
bond, in any county in which such order shall have been made by the
county commission thereof; jurors, witnesses and interpreters, at any
view or inquest, shall receive only such fees as are allowed by law, for
the time being, for like services in a civil case before an associate
circuit judge; and the county commission may prescribe the form and
manner in which the coroner shall make proof to it of his payment of such
fees. It shall be the duty of the coroner to summon to the view or
inquest only such number of witnesses as, from a preliminary inquiry into
the nature of the case, and the cause of the death, may reasonably appear
sufficient to prove the essential facts thereof; and if it shall appear
to the county commission that any witness had been unnecessarily summoned
to testify at a view or inquest, the fees paid as aforesaid to such
witness shall not be allowed in favor of the coroner in the settlement of
his account for the money so advanced to him as aforesaid, except in a
case in which some credible person shall have declared, under oath, to
the coroner, that the person whose body is to be viewed came to his death
by violence, or other criminal act of another, the coroner shall not
summon any jury, but shall himself view the body and declare the cause of
death. (RSMo 1939 § 13255, A.L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11636; 1919 § 5944; 1909 § 2949
Effective 1-2-79
It shall be the duty of the coroner to execute any requirement of
the county commission, made by virtue of section 58.610, for the payment
of fees at views and inquests. (RSMo 1939 § 13256, A.L. 1955 p. 347)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 11637; 1919 § 5945; 1909 § 2950
1. Except as provided in subsection 2 and subsection 3 of this
section, the governing body of all counties of the second classification
which prior to January 1, 1975, have a population of more than one
hundred twenty thousand and less than two hundred thousand and all
counties of the first classification not having a charter form of
government shall appoint a county medical examiner and set his
compensation.
2. The county governing body of any county of the first classification
which has a population of at least ninety thousand but less than
ninety-one thousand inhabitants and the county governing body of any
county of the first classification which has a population of at least
sixty thousand but less than seventy thousand inhabitants which borders a
county of the third classification which has a population of at least
thirty-five thousand inhabitants may, within one year after becoming a
county of the first classification, elect to retain the office of coroner
as set forth in this chapter, or may appoint a county medical examiner
within such year or at any time thereafter, except that any decision to
appoint a county medical examiner after such year shall be made at least
one year prior to the expiration of the term of office of the county
coroner. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, the
governing body of the county shall set the compensation of the coroner or
medical examiner without regard to any schedule.
3. The county governing body of any county which becomes a county of the
first classification after December 31, 1998, may, within one year after
becoming a county of the first classification, adopt an order retaining
the county coroner until such time as the county commission subsequently
adopts an order appointing a medical examiner. Any subsequent decision to
appoint a county medical examiner shall be made at least one year prior
to the expiration of the term of office of the county coroner. The
governing body of the county shall set the compensation of the coroner or
medical examiner without regard to any schedule. (L. 1983 S.B. 122 § 1,
A.L. 1991 S.B. 386, A.L. 1996 H.B. 1504 merged with S.B. 806, A.L. 1997
S.B. 11)
1. The county medical examiner shall be a physician duly licensed
to practice by the state board of the healing arts.
2. The county medical examiner shall serve at the pleasure of the
governing body of the county. In the event of a vacancy in the office of
county medical examiner, the governing body of the county shall appoint a
successor. (L. 1973 S.B. 122 §§ 2, 3)
1. The county medical examiner may appoint, with the approval of
the governing body of the county and subject to such terms and conditions
and at such rates of compensation as the governing body of the county may
prescribe, assistant county medical examiners and such other professional
or technical personnel, clerks and other employees as may be necessary to
carry out the provisions of sections 58.010, 58.020, 58.060, 58.090,
58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700 to 58.765 in that county.
2. Assistant county medical examiners shall have the same qualifications
as the county medical examiner and may perform all duties of the county
medical examiner during his absence. (L. 1973 S.B. 122 §§ 4, 5)
In addition to the duties prescribed by sections 58.010, 58.020,
58.060, 58.090, 58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700 to 58.765 the
medical examiner shall perform those duties and functions prescribed by
law for coroners which are not in conflict with the provisions of
sections 58.010, 58.020, 58.060, 58.090, 58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455,
and 58.700 to 58.765; except that, the medical examiner shall not perform
any duty of the sheriff. The duties of the sheriff which are prescribed
by law for coroners shall be performed by the prosecuting attorney in all
counties in which there is a medical examiner. (L. 1973 S.B. 122 § 6)
1. When any person dies within a county having a medical examiner
as a result of:
(1) Violence by homicide, suicide, or accident;
(2) Thermal, chemical, electrical, or radiation injury;
(3) Criminal abortions, including those self-induced;
(4) Disease thought to be of a hazardous and contagious nature or which
might constitute a threat to public health; or when any person dies:
(a) Suddenly when in apparent good health;
(b) When unattended by a physician, chiropractor, or an accredited
Christian Science practitioner, during the period of thirty-six hours
immediately preceding his death;
(c) While in the custody of the law, or while an inmate in a public
institution;
(d) In any unusual or suspicious manner;
the police, sheriff, law enforcement officer or official, or any person
having knowledge of such a death shall immediately notify the office of
the medical examiner of the known facts concerning the time, place,
manner and circumstances of the death.
Immediately upon receipt of notification, the medical examiner or his
designated assistant shall take charge of the dead body and fully
investigate the essential facts concerning the medical causes of death.
He may take the names and addresses of witnesses to the death and shall
file this information in his office. The medical examiner or his
designated assistant shall take possession of all property of value found
on the body, making exact inventory thereof on his report and shall
direct the return of such property to the person entitled to its custody
or possession. The medical examiner or his designated assistant examiner
shall take possession of any object or article which, in his opinion, may
be useful in establishing the cause of death, and deliver it to the
prosecuting attorney of the county.
2. When a death occurs outside a licensed health care facility, the first
licensed medical professional or law enforcement official learning of
such death shall contact the county medical examiner. Immediately upon
receipt of such notification, the medical examiner or the medical
examiner's deputy shall make a determination if further investigation is
necessary, based on information provided by the individual contacting the
medical examiner, and immediately advise such individual of the medical
examiner's intentions.
3. In any case of sudden, violent or suspicious death after which the
body was buried without any investigation or autopsy, the medical
examiner, upon being advised of such facts, may at his own discretion
request that the prosecuting attorney apply for a court order requiring
the body to be exhumed.
4. The medical examiner shall certify the cause of death in any case
where death occurred without medical attendance or where an attending
physician refuses to sign a certificate of death, and may sign a
certificate of death in the case of any death.
5. When the cause of death is established by the medical examiner, he
shall file a copy of his findings in his office within thirty days after
notification of the death.
6. When a person is being transferred from one county to another county
for medical treatment and such person dies while being transferred, the
county from which the person is first removed shall be considered the
place of death and the medical examiner of the county from which the
person was being transferred shall be responsible for the certificate of
death and for investigating the cause and manner of the death. If the
coroner or medical examiner in the county in which the person died
believes that further investigation is warranted and a postmortem
examination is needed, such coroner or medical examiner shall have the
right to further investigate and perform the postmortem examination at
the expense of such coroner or medical examiner and shall be responsible
for the certificate of death and for investigating the cause and manner
of the death. Such coroner or medical examiner shall immediately notify
the coroner or medical examiner of the county from which the person was
being transferred of the death of such person and after an investigation
is completed shall notify such coroner or medical examiner of his
findings. If a person does not die while being transferred and is
institutionalized after such transfer and subsequently dies while in such
institution, the coroner or medical examiner of the county in which the
person dies shall immediately notify the coroner or medical examiner of
the county from which such person was transferred of the death of such
person. In such cases, the county in which the deceased was
institutionalized shall be considered the place of death.
7. Except as provided in subsection 6 of this section, if a person dies
in one county and his body is subsequently transferred to another county,
the county coroner or medical examiner where the death occurred shall be
responsible for the certificate of death and for investigating the cause
and manner of the death.
8. In performing his duties, the coroner or medical examiner shall make
reasonable efforts to accommodate organ donation. (L. 1973 S.B. 122 §§ 7,
8, A.L. 1989 S.B. 389, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1416, A.L. 1996 H.B. 811)
1. When any person dies within a county having a medical examiner
and there are reasonable grounds to believe that such person was less
than eighteen years of age, who was eligible to receive a certificate of
live birth, the police, sheriff, law enforcement officer or official, or
any person having knowledge of such a death shall immediately notify the
medical examiner of the known facts concerning the time, place, manner
and circumstances of the death. The medical examiner shall notify the
division of the child's death pursuant to section 210.115, RSMo. The
medical examiner shall immediately evaluate the necessity for child
fatality review and shall immediately notify the chairman of the child
fatality review panel. The child fatality review panel shall be activated
within twenty-four hours of such notice to review any death which
includes one or more of the suspicious circumstances described in the
protocol developed by the department of social services, state technical
assistance team pursuant to section 210.194, RSMo.
2. If the medical examiner determines that the death of the person under
age eighteen years, who is eligible to receive a certificate of live
birth, does not include any suspicious circumstances listed in the
protocol, the medical examiner shall complete a nonsuspicious child death
form provided by the department of social services, state technical
assistance team, have the form cosigned by the chairman of the child
fatality review panel and forward the original to the department of
social services, state technical assistance team within forty-eight hours
of receiving notice of the child's death.
3. When a child under the age of eighteen years, who is eligible to
receive a certificate of live birth, dies, the medical examiner shall
notify a certified child death pathologist to determine the need for an
autopsy. The certified child death pathologist, in conjunction with the
medical examiner, shall determine the need for an autopsy. If there is
disagreement concerning the need for the autopsy, the certified child
death pathologist shall make the determination unless the child fatality
review panel, within twelve hours, decides against the certified child
death pathologist.
4. When there is a disagreement regarding the necessity for an autopsy,
the certified child death pathologist shall file a report with the
chairman of the child fatality review panel indicating the basis for the
disagreement. The pathologist's report on the disagreement shall be
included in the report to the department of social services, state
technical assistance team. If an autopsy is determined necessary, the
autopsy shall be performed by a certified child death pathologist within
twenty-four hours of receipt of the body by the pathologist or within
twenty-four hours of the agreement by the pathologist to perform the
autopsy, whichever occurs later.
5. Knowing failure by a medical examiner to refer a suspicious death of a
child under the age of eighteen years, who is eligible to receive a
certificate of live birth, to a child fatality review panel or to a
certified child death pathologist is a class A misdemeanor. (L. 1991 H.B.
185, A.L. 1994 S.B. 595)
In cases in which, in the opinion of the medical examiner, an
autopsy is necessary, the autopsy shall be performed by the medical
examiner if he is a pathologist or by such competent pathologist as may
be authorized and employed by the medical examiner. A detailed
description of the findings of the autopsy, and the conclusions drawn
therefrom, shall be filed in the office of the medical examiner. (L. 1973
S.B. 122 § 9)
CROSS REFERENCE: Pituitary gland to be retained unless contrary
indication by decedent or next of kin, RSMo 58.770
All law enforcement officers and other officials shall cooperate
fully with the department of the medical examiner and shall report
immediately any death which comes to their knowledge under any of the
circumstances set forth in section 58.720, subsection 1. (L. 1973 S.B.
122 § 10)
After an investigation has been completed, including an autopsy
if one is made, the dead body shall be delivered to the relatives or
friends of the deceased person for burial. If no person claims the body,
it shall be disposed of as provided by law. (L. 1973 S.B. 122 § 11)
The medical examiners shall administer oaths and affirmations,
take affidavits, and make examinations as to any matter within the
jurisdiction of their respective offices, but the medical examiners shall
not be required to summon a jury of inquisition. (L. 1973 S.B. 122 § 13)
Any person failing to supply the information required by section
58.720, subsection 4, is guilty of misdemeanor and upon conviction shall
be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than sixty days, or by both
the fine and imprisonment. (L. 1973 S.B. 122 § 14)
The coroner in any county to which sections 58.010, 58.020,
58.060, 58.090, 58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700 to 58.765 apply
in office on September 28, 1973, shall not be removed from office during
the remainder of the term for which he was elected, but upon the
expiration of his term, or upon his resignation or death, the office of
coroner is abolished, and a county medical examiner shall be appointed as
provided in section 58.700. (L. 1973 S.B. 122 § 15)
1. The provisions of sections 58.010, 58.020, 58.060, 58.090,
58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700 to 58.765 may be adopted by any
other county of this state after approval by a vote of the people of the
county. The governing body of the county may make an order presenting the
question for the establishment of a county medical examiner and shall,
upon a petition signed by a number of voters in the county equal to five
percent of the total vote cast in the county at the last preceding
election for governor requesting an election on the question, submit the
proposition at an election.
2. The proposition shall be submitted in substantially the following form:
Shall the office of county medical examiner be established?
3. If a majority of those voting on the question vote for the adoption of
a county medical examiner, the provisions of sections 58.010, 58.020,
58.060, 58.090, 58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700 to 58.765 shall
apply to the county.
4. The coroner in any county adopting sections 58.010, 58.020, 58.060,
58.090, 58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700 to 58.765 in office at
the time the county adopts sections 58.010, 58.020, 58.060, 58.090,
58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700 to 58.765 shall not be removed
from office during the remainder of the term of office for which he was
elected, but upon the expiration of his term, or upon his death or
resignation, the office of coroner is abolished in the county and a
county medical examiner shall be approved as provided in sections 58.010,
58.020, 58.060, 58.090, 58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700 to
58.765.
5. As used in sections 58.700 through 58.765 in reference to any county
of the first class composed entirely of a city with a population of more
than six hundred thousand, the term "governing body of the county" means
the mayor of such city, and the terms "city medical examiner" or
"assistant city medical examiner" shall be used in lieu of "county
medical examiner" or "assistant county medical examiner". (L. 1973 S.B.
122 § 16, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)
(1975) Language "any other county" includes city of St. Louis. This
section does not violate Art. VI § 22 Const. of Mo., State ex rel.
McClellan v. Godfrey (Mo.), 519 S.W.2d 4.
Any two or more counties adopting the provisions of sections
58.010, 58.020, 58.060, 58.090, 58.160, 58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700
to 58.765 or to whom sections 58.010, 58.020, 58.060, 58.090, 58.160,
58.375, 58.451, 58.455 and 58.700 to 58.765 apply may by contract among
themselves join in the appointment of a county medical examiner to serve
all such counties. The governing body of all the counties shall approve
the contract, administer the appointment and allocate the costs among the
counties. (L. 1973 S.B. 122 § 17)
When an autopsy is performed by a coroner's physician or medical
examiner under authority granted by sections 58.451 and 58.725, the
physician or medical examiner may retain the pituitary gland removed at
the time of autopsy unless a contrary indication was given by the
decedent or is declared by the next of kin for purposes of medical
research, education and therapy. (L. 1977 H.B. 726 § 1)
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