Q: Is the coroner responsible for finding the next of kin to pick up the body after the autopsy?
The coroner released my husband's body to another family member 17 days after his death. I had been making arrangements with a funeral home, filled out paperwork for death cert etc. Then I found out that his body had been released already! I am his wife. Shouldn't I have been notified before they released his body? Then I find out he's already been cremated.... I am devastated!
A: I'm sorry but I don't the policy as to the obligations of Coroners to release a body to a specific person. It is a shame that it happened the way you describe it, but there is not much you can do about it now. Perhaps you can speak to the Coroner and to the family member who received the body, so that you may understand what happened and get some closure. Good Luck.
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