An elective office provided for by the state constitution, each in Indiana has a coroner who serves part time for a four-year term, not to exceed two consecutive terms. The coroner’s office conducts inquiries into the cause and manner of death in cases of violent or questionable death or where there is no personal physician to sign the death certificate. Such cases include accidental death, suicides, homicides, and infant deaths.
The coroner’s office has the power to issue subpoenas and conduct cases within its jurisdiction as part of a federal investigation. The chief coroner, the only official who can arrest or replace the sheriff, is not required to have any medical qualifications. Originally, the coroner’s offices were housed in the City-County Building, while autopsies and lab work were done at .
In 1986 the entire coroner staff moved to the basement of the county jail where they now have both offices and a pathology lab. The Marion County Coroner vacated the jail in 2002. The offices and pathology lab moved to a nearly 120-year-old building south of Lucas Oil Stadium at 521 West McCarty Street. The Marion County Coroner will move to the new Criminal Justice Center in 2022.
Cases are referred to the coroner’s office by health officials, physicians, and police agencies. Upon referral, deputy coroners conduct investigations in cooperation with the police, and bodies are subsequently sent to the morgue for further examination and, if necessary, an autopsy. The chief coroner makes the final death determination based upon all the evidence gathered and is responsible for signing the death certificate.
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