(a)Whenever the coroner is notified that a
person in the county:
(1)has died from violence;
(3)has died when apparently in good health;
(4)has died in an apparently suspicious, unusual, or unnatural
manner; or
(5)has been found dead;
the coroner shall, before the scene of the death is disturbed, notify a
law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in that area. The agency
shall assist the coroner in determining the cause, manner, and
mechanism of death. The coroner shall hold the human remains until
the investigation of how the person died and the medical investigation
of the cause of death are concluded.
(b)If the coroner reasonably suspects the cause of the person's death
to be accidental or intentional overdose of a controlled substance (as
defined by IC 3
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(a) Whenever the coroner is notified that a
person in the county:
(1) has died from violence;
(2) has died by casualty;
(3) has died when apparently in good health;
(4) has died in an apparently suspicious, unusual, or unnatural
manner; or
(5) has been found dead;
the coroner shall, before the scene of the death is disturbed, notify a
law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in that area. The agency
shall assist the coroner in determining the cause, manner, and
mechanism of death. The coroner shall hold the human remains until
the investigation of how the person died and the medical investigation
of the cause of death are concluded.
(b) If the coroner reasonably suspects the cause of the person's death
to be accidental or intentional overdose of a controlled substance (as
defined by IC 35-48-1.1-7), the coroner shall do the following:
(1) Obtain any relevant information about the decedent
maintained by the INSPECT program established by IC 25-1-13-4.
(2) Extract one (1) or more of the following bodily fluids from the
decedent:
(A) Blood.
(B) Vitreous.
(C) Urine.
(3) Test a bodily fluid extracted under subdivision (2) to
determine whether the bodily fluid contained any amount,
including a trace amount, of a controlled substance at the time of
the decedent's death.
(4) If the coroner reasonably suspects the cause of the person's
death to be accidental or intentional overdose of an opioid (as
defined in IC 35-48-1.1-31) or if the person was administered an
overdose intervention drug (as defined in IC 16-18-2-263.9) prior
to death and was unresponsive to the overdose intervention drug,
the coroner shall test a bodily fluid extracted under subdivision
(2) to determine whether the bodily fluid contained any amount,
including a trace amount, of xylazine at the time of the decedent's
death.
(5) Report the results of the test conducted under this subsection
to the Indiana department of health after completing the medical
investigation of the cause of the decedent's death.
(6) Provide the Indiana department of health notice of the
decedent's death, including any information related to the
controlled substances involved, if any.
(c) The coroner:
(1) shall file a certificate of death with the county health
department, or, if applicable, a multiple county health department,
of the county in which the individual died, within seventy-two
(72) hours after the completion of the death investigation;
(2) shall complete the certificate of death utilizing all verifiable
information establishing the time and date of death; and
(3) may file a pending investigation certificate of death before
completing the certificate of death, if necessary.
(d) If this section applies, the body and the scene of death may not
be disturbed until:
(1) the coroner has photographed them in the manner that most
fully discloses how the person died; and
(2) law enforcement and the coroner have finished their initial
assessment of the scene of death.
However, a coroner or law enforcement officer may order a body to be
moved before photographs are taken if the position or location of the
body unduly interferes with activities carried on where the body is
found, but the body may not be moved from the immediate area and
must be moved without substantially destroying or altering the
evidence present.
(e) When acting under this section, if the coroner considers it
necessary to have an autopsy performed, is required to perform an
autopsy under subsection (g), or is requested by the prosecuting
attorney of the county to perform an autopsy, the coroner shall arrange
for the autopsy to be performed by a:
(1) physician who:
(A) is certified by the American Board of Pathology; or
(B) holds a subspecialty board certification in forensic
pathology from the American Osteopathic Board of Pathology
and the American Osteopathic Association; or
(2) pathology resident acting under the direct supervision of a
physician described in subdivision (1).
A physician employed under subdivision (1) to perform the autopsy
shall be paid a fee of at least fifty dollars ($50) from the county
treasury.
(f) If:
(1) at the request of:
(A) the decedent's spouse;
(B) a child of the decedent, if the decedent does not have a
spouse;
(C) a parent of the decedent, if the decedent does not have a
spouse or children;
(D) a brother or sister of the decedent, if the decedent does not
have a spouse, children, or parents; or
(E) a grandparent of the decedent, if the decedent does not have
a spouse, children, parents, brothers, or sisters;
(2) in any death, two (2) or more witnesses who corroborate the
circumstances surrounding death are present; and
(3) two (2) physicians who are licensed to practice medicine in
the state and who have made separate examinations of the
decedent certify the same cause of death in an affidavit within
twenty-four (24) hours after death;
an autopsy need not be performed. The affidavits shall be filed with the
circuit court clerk.
(g) A county coroner may not certify the cause of death in the case
of the sudden and unexpected death of a child who is less than three (3)
years old unless an autopsy is performed at county expense. However,
a coroner may certify the cause of death of a child described in this
subsection without the performance of an autopsy if subsection (f)
applies to the death of the child.
(h) After consultation with the law enforcement agency
investigating the death of a decedent, the coroner shall do the
following:
(1) Inform a crematory authority if a person is barred under IC 23-14-31-26(c) from serving as the authorizing agent with respect
to the cremation of the decedent's body because the coroner made
the determination under IC 23-14-31-26(c)(2) in connection with
the death of the decedent.
(2) Inform a cemetery owner if a person is barred under IC 23-14-55-2(c) from authorizing the disposition of the body or
cremated remains of the decedent because the coroner made the
determination under IC 23-14-55-2(c)(2) in connection with the
death of the decedent.
(3) Inform a seller of prepaid services or merchandise if a person's
contract is unenforceable under IC 30-2-13-23(b) because the
coroner made the determination under IC 30-2-13-23(b)(4) in
connection with the death of the decedent.
[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citation:
17-3-17-4.]
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1. Amended by Acts
1981, P.L.39, SEC.2; P.L.106-1986, SEC.2; P.L.339-1987, SEC.1;
P.L.179-2003, SEC.5; P.L.102-2007, SEC.5; P.L.157-2007, SEC.3;
P.L.225-2007, SEC.12; P.L.34-2011, SEC.12; P.L.193-2018, SEC.4;
P.L.47-2019, SEC.5; P.L.102-2019, SEC.2; P.L.211-2019, SEC.48;
P.L.56-2023, SEC.330; P.L.71-2023, SEC.1; P.L.186-2025,
SEC.254.