The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner (formerly the Department of Coroner) was created in its present form in

Boyle Heights Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

on December 17, 1920 by an ordinance approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, although it has existed in some form since the late 19th century. On September 3, 2020, the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their firs ...

approved the name change for the department, from the Department of the Coroner to the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. On July 9, 2010, the Board of Supervisors approved the appointment of Mark A. Fajardo, the Chief Forensic Pathologist at

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

, as the new Medical Examiner-Coroner, at an annual salary of $275,000. He formally replaced Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, who served 2 years as the Coroner, in August 2013. Dr. Mark Fajardo resigned in March 2016. A news report indicated that "he left because it became common to have up to 50 bodies waiting to be processed and the backlog of bodies was 'nuts'. ... and toxicology tests were taking six months to complete" due to inadequate staffing. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran was re-appointed, but as interim coroner, on April 11, 2016. As of December 30, 2016, the position of Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner had not been permanently filled. A search process had been initiated by the county, with Ralph Andersen & Associates working "to develop a customized recruitment brochure for this position". Dr. Jonathan R. Lucas was appointed as the Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner on July 10, 2017. Dr. Lucas announced his intent to leave DMEC (The Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner) in September of 2022. On November 4, 2022, Dr. Odey C. Ukpo, Medical Director of the Department, was sworn in as Interim Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner. Dr. Ukpo is the first African American to serve as Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner since the office was established in 1850. Dr. Ukpo joined the department in 2014 and served as a Senior Deputy Medical Examiner before being named Medical Director in June 2022.

List of coroners

* Horace G. Cates: 1892-1896 *

Theodore Curphey Theodore Joscelyn Curphey (October 25, 1897 – November 27, 1986) was an American coroner who was the chief coroner for Los Angeles and Nassau (New York) Counties. Curphey was elected Nassau County medical examiner on December 15, 1937 by the ...

: March 19, 1957 – October 25, 1967 *

Thomas Noguchi is the former Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles. Popularly known as the "coroner to the stars", Noguchi determined the cause of death in many high-profile cases in Hollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. He performed a ...

: October 26, 1967 – April 27, 1982 *

Ronald Kornblum Ronald N. Kornblum was an American coroner who served as Los Angeles County Coroner from 1982 to 1990. Early life Kornblum was born December 5, 1933 in Chicago. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles a ...

: April 27, 1982 – July 1, 1990 * J. Lawrence Cogan (Acting): July 2, 1990 – February 18, 1992 * Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran: February 18, 1992 – March 31, 2013 * Mark A. Fajardo: August 12, 2013 – April 11, 2016 * Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran (interim): April 11, 2016 – January 18, 2017 *

Christopher Rogers Christopher Rogers may refer to: * Christopher John Rogers, American fashion designer * Christopher C. Rogers Christopher C. Rogers is an American film and television writer and producer. He began his career in magazines at '' The Atlantic'' in W ...

(Acting): January 19, 2017 – July 9, 2017 * Jonathan R. Lucas: July 10, 2017 – November 4, 2022 * Odey C. Ukpo (interim): November 4, 2022 – present

References

External links

* {{County of Los Angeles Boyle Heights, Los Angeles County government agencies in California Government of Los Angeles County, California Medical examiners

List of coroners

See also

References

External links