Rising number of homeless deaths reflects increasing numbers of people needing shelter and care

March 5, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

If we’re ever asked to consider that we might die someday, most of us probably hope it’s at home or doing something we love. For people experiencing homelessness in King County, 72 percent die in unfortunate public places, ranging from crawl spaces under buildings, to parked cars, to public parks. In 2017, the King County […]

Gone but not forgotten – 2017

October 12, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 18, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office will lay to rest the remains of individuals who did not have the means or the family to provide a proper burial. The ceremony will take place at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Renton. King County is required to process and bury these […]

Gone but not forgotten

September 29, 2016.Reading time 2 minutes.

In some way or another, most of us will be remembered in an event after we’re gone. A burial or scattering of ashes. Perhaps a religious ceremony. A gathering of friends and loved ones. But what if there was no one to claim our remains and honor our life? Every few years, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office (KCMEO) hosts a […]

Acetylfentanyl-laced cocaine may have killed two in King County

June 3, 2016.Reading time 2 minutes.

Update 7/20/16: Additional information provided by law enforcement concludes that the cocaine was not laced with acetylfentanyl at the point of purchase but that it likely was mixed after it was obtained. Original post: This week, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted autopsies on two women who apparently died from cocaine that may have been contaminated […]