Death investigations are an emotional challenge, coroners - TopicsExpress

Death investigations are an emotional challenge, coroners say In 1990, while working under then-Columbia County Coroner Tommy King, he was called to a home in Harlem, where an elderly man had died of natural causes. The family was calm about the loss because of the man’s age, Collins said. After speaking with family members and helping with arrangements, the new deputy coroner finished his paperwork and was on his way. He soon learned this routine call wouldn’t be the norm. Collins, 67, who was appointed coroner in 2006 after King’s death, has seen his share of the darkest side of humanity in his nearly 25 years of investigating deaths in Columbia County. Just last year, his office responded to 227 calls. He’s dealt with deaths ranging from suicides to infanticides, drug overdoses to homicides, many that have shaken him emotionally. But Collins, like other coroners, said he finds solace in the fact that he can help others through their worst days. Most coroners are compassionate by nature, Burke County Coroner Susan Salemi said. Having spent decades as a emergency room nurse at Burke Medical Center and several more as a law enforcement officer, Salemi said she grew close to the people of her community long before she was [...] geogianews/death-investigations-are-an-emotional-challenge-coroners-say-3/