Marshall County Council Approves Chief Deputy Coroner Job Description

  
 

The Marshall County Council approved a recommendation from the personnel committee to include a job description for the chief deputy coroner in the handbook, a task that has been pending for a long time.

The position description submitted includes duties, job requirements, responsibilities, and physical effort. The chief deputy coroner is a part-time position and is appointed by the coroner. The appointee is responsible for assisting in investigating and certifying cause and manner of death in any suspicious, unusual or unnatural human death.

The duties include investigations, witness interviews and responses to family inquiries, determines the need for an autopsy and specimen draws as well as necessary documents. The chief deputy coroner is also responsible for the chain of custody of evidence and personal effects. He or she may also need to testify in legal proceedings if required.

A high school diploma or GED is required along with the ability to obtain and maintain required certifications, such as an Indiana Coroner’s Training Board Certification, within one year of appointment.

Coroner Bill Cleavenger and a representative of the personnel committee presented the document to the handbook that was unanimously passed. Cleavenger has appointed Bridget Hite as the chief deputy coroner.

Head-On Collision Claims One Life, Injures Two

 
 

A head-on collision last night in Marshall County claims a life. The wreck happened around 8 p.m. in front of LaVille Elementary School, according to our reporting partners at WNDU-TV. Authorities say Tyler Ohara, 24, from Bicknell, crossed the median into oncoming northbound traffic and died on impact. Marshall County Coroner Bill Cleavenger stated that Ohara was killed instantly of blunt force trauma. Toxicology tests were completed but results are pending and could be delayed due to the New Year’s holiday.

Two people in the other vehicle were injured in the crash but their condition is unknown. The accident remains under investigation.

Knox Man Killed in Marshall County Crash

 

 
 

A single-vehicle crash in Marshall County Tuesday afternoon claimed the life of a Knox man. It happened on State Road 17 near the intersection of 10B road south of Plymouth. Manis Stacy, Jr., 57, had just left work and was southbound on 17 when a piece of metal from a northbound trailer came loose and crashed through the windshield of his truck, according to Marshall County Coroner Bill Cleavenger. Stacy drove off the road into a field and hit a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers from the Marshall County Police Department and Plymouth Fire and EMS responded. Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen notified Stacy’s family.

 

Marshall County Coroner, Deputy Coroner Save Life with AED

 
 
The Marshall County coroner and his deputy saved the life of a man involved in a minor property damage accident in Marshall County yesterday afternoon with the aid of an automated external defibrillator. Deputy Coroner Lisa Richards and County Coroner Bill Cleavenger had just responded to a fatal accident in Bremen and on their way back to Plymouth, they happened to get stuck behind traffic from the property damage accident at the intersection of North Michigan and Baker streets in Plymouth.

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Preliminary Autopsy Results Released in Marshall County Inmate Death

  
 

Preliminary autopsy results have been released in the case of a Marshall County Jail inmate found dead in his cell Sunday morning.

Marshall County Coroner Bill Cleavenger and Deputy Coroner Lisa Richards attended the autopsy in Mishawaka Tuesday which was conducted by Dr. Joseph Prahlow, a board certified forensic pathologist. Cleavenger indicated that the preliminary results showed no evidence of violence nor foul play in the death of 44-year-old Kerry Pinder. Pinder had a history of previous medical issues and there is no evidence to suggest that his incarceration was related to his death.

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Marshall County Coroner, ISP Investigating Death of Inmate

police investigation 2Neither violence nor foul play are suspected in the Sunday morning death of an inmate at the Marshall County Correctional Facility in Plymouth. Authorities there say 44-year-old Kerry A. Pinder of Culver had been jailed since early Saturday morning following his arrest by Plymouth Police for operating while intoxicated. He was awaiting release at the time of his death just before 11 a.m. An autopsy is scheduled today. When an inmate in custody dies, the Indiana State Police and coroner are the lead investigators.

 

Culver Shooting Ruled Murder-Suicide

Stephen Suthard

An autopsy conducted by Forensic Pathologist Dr. Joseph Prahlow yesterday and a Culver police investigation have revealed that the result of the shootings on Wednesday, November 28 inside a Culver residence was a murder-suicide.

Marshall County Coroner Bill Cleavenger indicated that the preliminary autopsy results showed that 44-year-old Michael Price shot 16-year-old Stephen Suthard multiple times and then turned the gun on himself.

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Illinois Man Killed in Boating Accident

A Huntley, Illinois man died after a boating accident in Marshall County.

Around 5:15 p.m. ET Sunday, Roger A. Martin was in a boat with family members on Lake Latonka when the boat made a sharp turn causing Martin to fall overboard. The driver of the boat was making the turn to pick up a family member who had fallen off a large rubber tube that was being towed behind the boat. Martin was hit by a propeller after falling into the water.

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Plymouth Man Killed in Accident in Marshall County

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department investigated a fatal accident late yesterday afternoon.

82-year-old Donald Ferguson, of Plymouth, was killed instantly when his car was struck from behind by a semi-trailer tanker truck on U.S. 30 and Cedar Road in Bourbon. Ferguson was making a right hand turn onto Cedar Road when the accident occurred. Ferguson’s wife was injured in the accident and she was transferred to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth.

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Autopsy Released on Marshall County Inmate’s Death

Marshall County Coroner Bill Cleavenger has released the complete autopsy report on 35-year-old Georgia Onofre, an inmate who died in the Marshall County Jail in September.

After extensive testing and evaluation of tissue evidence collected in the case, Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Joseph A. Prahlow, determined that she died as a result of a heart condition. She died of complications from an enlarged heart, a condition Onofre probably wasn’t aware of. A review of Onofre’s medical records showed she had no heart issues and she didn’t note any medical problems when she was booked into the Marshall County Jail.

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Marshall County Inmate Died of Natural Causes

The death of a Marshall County inmate has been determined. Marshall County Coroner Bill Cleavenger said that the autopsy results revealed that Georgina Onofre died of natural causes.

Onofre, 35, was in a special observation area in the jail due to her past medical history and was under constant surveillance by jail staff. She became unresponsive around 4:00 a.m. ET Monday morning and jail staff immediately started resuscitation efforts. Plymouth paramedics transported Onofre to the Emergency Room at the Plymouth Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

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