Cumberland County, PA - County Coroner

01/30/2026

Authorities say an intoxicated driver on Saturday hit three people helping with a previous fatal crash on Spirit Lake Memorial Highway. The two separate vehicle accidents, which occurred about …

01/24/2026

Medicolegal death professionals exist to speak for those who no longer can.

When a death occurs suddenly, unexpectedly, or under questionable circumstances, these professionals step in to determine what happened, how it happened, and why it matters.

Their work is not abstract - it is foundational to truth, justice, and public trust.

Medicolegal death professionals play a critical role in the criminal justice system.

They
• Conduct independent death investigations
• Preserve and document evidence
• Support criminal investigations
• Provide scientifically grounded cause and manner of death determinations
• Deliver answers to families during the worst moments of their lives

Without this work, crimes could go undetected, injustices could go uncorrected, and public health threats could remain hidden.

Yet this profession often operates quietly - behind the scenes, misunderstood, and largely unrecognized - despite the enormous responsibility it carries.

That is why Medicolegal Death Investigation Professionals Week exists.

And that is why we celebrate it next week, the last week of January - honoring the moment death investigation formally became part of American history.

This coming week is about recognition.

It’s about awareness.

It’s about honoring a profession that protects truth, accountability, and community safety.

And history shows us som**hing important:
When people come together around causes that carry real weight - when professionals, families, agencies, and the public stand together - meaningful change happens.

So this week, we invite you to:

🖤 Learn about our work

Support your local coroner or medical examiner’s office

Share your appreciation even if it’s just by sharing the posts you’ll see supporting these professionals!

Stand with those who serve on society’s hardest days 🖤🖤

Because the final response deserves a first line of support.

And when we come together, we move the needle - together.

01/04/2026

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In 2018, Last Responder created and organized the very first Medicolegal Death Investigation Professionals Week to shine a light on a profession that has long stood in quiet service to our communities.

We chose the last week of January intentionally - not randomly, not arbitrarily.

It was chosen to honor the moment death investigation officially became part of American history.

Here’s a little history…

The coroner system originated in medieval England as representatives of the Crown, responsible for investigations, oversight, and ensuring legal and financial accountability in death. The system was later brought to North America by the colonists, where it became embedded in early American governance.

On January 29, 1637, Thomas Baldridge of St. Mary’s, Maryland, was appointed as the first coroner in what would later become the United States.

That milestone marked the beginning of a system built to safeguard truth, dignity, public safety, and accountability in death.

This week exists because our profession deserves recognition.

It exists because the individuals who perform this work deserve access to mental health resources, structured training, and clear standards that support professional excellence.

It exists because the work done by coroners, medical examiners, pathologists, investigators, and forensic professionals profoundly matters - even when the world doesn’t see it.

When Last Responder created this week back in 2018, our hope was simple:

• Bring awareness
• Facilitate unity and standardization
• Encourage appreciation
• Advocate for wellness
• Honor those behind the work

Today, we are incredibly proud to see organizations across the nation - including the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners - IACME - and many others worldwide - stand with us in elevating and celebrating Medicolegal Death Investigation Professionals.

What began as a vision has grown into a shared movement of recognition, support, and respect - and we couldn’t be more proud of how far we’ve come, even knowing there is still more work ahead.

To every professional in this field - thank you for your compassion, your resilience, your professionalism, and your unwavering commitment to truth and dignity.

You are seen. You are valued. You are essential.

So please join us - this year and every year that follows - during the last week of January (January 25–31, 2026) to honor the Last Responders who ensure every life, every story, and every death matters.

Do we have any followers from the St. Mary’s area of Maryland??

12/14/2025

Medicolegal Death Investigators work 24/7/365.

Death does not wait for daylight, holidays, or family plans. It comes at any hour, on any day.

When families lose a loved one, it is completely understandable that they don’t care how long the MDI has been awake or how many hours they’ve already worked. They are consumed by grief. That is as it should be.

What is often unseen is that the MDI also has a family. A life. Commitments and plans that are set aside - without hesitation - to respond, to comfort, and to investigate with integrity and professionalism.

I am probably older than many in this group. When I took driver’s education in the 1970s, we were shown a film called Death Takes a Holiday. While poignant, we all know the truth: death does not discriminate, and it never takes a holiday.

On Christmas Day, 2015, my first call came in at 00:15 - an infant death. A full-term baby girl named Joyous Noel. I cried.
Within the hour, I was dispatched to a fatal motor vehicle accident.

By the end of that Christmas Day, I had responded to 11 death calls, including another MVA where a wife accidentally ran over her husband after he laid his motorcycle down in front of her. I finally made it home to my family at 23:50.

But I did my job.

Every question was answered.

Every family was treated with dignity and respect.

I sacrificed a holiday with my own family so that others—on the worst day of their lives—could have truth, compassion, and professionalism.

That is the job we do.

That is the profession we chose.

We are proud warriors. We willingly sacrifice so others may have truth, integrity, and answers. We are a cut above. We are the guardians of the truth.

We do not falter.

We do not fail.

We stand firm - no matter the personal cost.

This holiday season, hold your head high. Be proud of the work you do.

Know this: we do what very, very few people can do.

From myself and Last Responder, we wish you joy, peace, and the satisfaction of a job well done. We recognize the cost you give freely.

Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. And warm wishes for a meaningful season - whatever you believe in.

No matter what, we are warriors.
And we all carry the banner of truth.

10/15/2025

When you see a last responder (death investigator), remember this - we’ve already walked through the worst day of someone’s life today.

We’ve held their silence, carried their sorrow, and gone home pretending we’re fine.

We are human. And every scene, every story, every name stays with us - even when you don’t know.

———

I cried when I saw your daughter lying in a ditch, dead from m**h - But how could you know?

I was devastated when I found the 32 year old veteran dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound - But how could you know?

I missed my kids birthdays, school plays and family trips because I had to work - But how could you know?

I had nightmares about the 2 year old crushed under a truck tire while mom was inside buying dope - But how could you know?

I struggled with EVERY death notification I made to a family about their loved one - But how could you know?

I am never comfortable at social gatherings because with the things I've seen, I can't trust anyone -But how could you know?

I've seen things you could never even imagine - But how could you know?

My job was hard on my family - But how could you know?

I had problems, just like everyone else - But how could you know?

So the next time you see a last responder, remember - we are the quiet witnesses to humanity’s hardest moments.

We carry stories that never make the news,
grief that never finds words,
and faces we can never forget.

We are people first - parents, friends, neighbors - trying to make sense of a world that too often ends in tragedy.

There is no training for the weight we carry,
only the hope that, in speaking for the dead,we somehow honor the living.

09/26/2025

01/23/2025

So grateful for my incredible staff

11/28/2024

That includes Coroners and Deputies

05/27/2024

Remember why we have Memorial Day

05/14/2024

Lets take a moment to remember all those who have given it all to protect all of us