St. Francois County Coroner

Jason Coplin – County Coroner

The staff of the St. Francois County Coroner’s Office offers our sincere condolences during what is a very stressful and difficult time. Please contact us with any questions you may have.

Autopsies and external examinations are performed at the St. Francois County Coroner’s Office/Morgue. Cases are referred to the Coroner’s Office based on criteria set forth in Missouri Statutes. The Coroner will determine the need for an autopsy based on the information received through initial investigation. An autopsy is not done on every case referred to the Coroner’s Office. Bodies are released to the funeral home of the next of kin’s choice as soon as the Coroner has completed the examination.

Missouri Statute 58.451 directs the Coroner to investigate the following deaths:

• Violence by Homicide, Suicide, or Accident;
• Criminal Abortion, including self-induced; or when any person dies:
• Suddenly when in apparent good health;
• When unattended by a physician during the 36-hour period preceding death;
• While in custody of the law, or while an inmate in a public institution;
• In any unusual or suspicious manner.

Child deaths, under age 18 are to be reported to the Coroner for investigation and referral to the Child Fatality Review Panel. The Coroner is also to be notified of all Residential Care Facility, and Hospice deaths.

Under Missouri Statute, deaths meeting any of these criteria must be immediately reported to the Medical Examiner or Coroner in the county where the person dies. Jurisdiction over a case is also determined by statute and currently if a death is caused by any type of trauma or involves a child, jurisdiction reverts to the county where the incident occurred. The St. Francois County Coroner’s Office notifies the appropriate county as soon as the location of the incident is determined. Deaths in a hospital Emergency Department are reported to the Coroner and the death certificate is typically forwarded to our office to be signed.

Personal property is inventoried by the Coroner, and sent to the funeral home with the body, unless prior arrangements are made. Clothing that is deemed hazardous due to soiling will be disposed of. Law Enforcement may have personal property that was collected as evidence, or valuables collected for safekeeping. Prescription medications are collected after death. They are inventoried and destroyed after the case is completed.

Toxicology/Autopsy Results: Toxicology is performed as a routine part of the autopsy. Samples are obtained, and sent to an off-site forensic toxicology lab. Our office usually receives toxicology results from these tests in 4-6 weeks. In rare cases special studies may take longer to complete. Autopsy results in a final report form may take as much as 8-weeks to be returned to our office.

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