State Medical Examiner | Mississippi Department of Public Safety

State Medical Examiner

Prior to 2008, all medicolegal death investigations in the state of Mississippi were conducted by county medical examiner investigators. In 2011, the Mississippi State Legislature re-established the State Medical Examiner’s Office and replaced the county coroner system with a statewide mixed coroner/State Medical Examiner system (see Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-51 through § 41-61-79). Headed by Dr. Staci Turner, Chief Medical Examiner and Forensic Pathologist, the SMEO is responsible for determining the cause and manner of death for all reportable deaths requiring investigation, including homicides, suicides, accidents, child deaths, in-custody deaths, workplace deaths, and unexplained deaths.

CONTACT

State Medical Examiner’s Office
215 Allen Stuart Drive
Pearl, MS 39208

Map and Directions
GPS Coordinates: 32.2430° N 90.0876° W

Phone: (601) 420-9140
Fax: (601) 420-9152
General email | Records request

OFFICE HOURS

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday

Closed Weekends

ABOUT

Mission

The mission of the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office is to assure the citizens of Mississippi that all deaths affecting the public interest are properly investigated and reported in a prescribed manner as mandated by the Mississippi Code 41-61-51. We aspire to accomplish this goal by:

recognizing that each decedent is a patient with family, friends, and a community in need of accurate information;
objectively and efficiently analyzing and disseminating information collected during our investigation to the appropriate recipients in a respectful and timely manner to the best of our ability;
advancing the medical and scientific literature by sharing our observations with the global community and partnering with other institutions;
fostering the educational value by sharing our knowledge and partnering with individuals from various disciplines and with students representing many learning levels;
cultivating a positive and team-oriented environment in which case-specific or comprehensive solutions can be rationally applied;
standardizing death investigation protocols;
maintaining considerate and professional standards of behavior and practice so as to provide the citizens of Mississippi with respectful care and superior service.

Our Facility

In 2015 the State Medical Examiner’s Office and the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory moved into their newly constructed $36 million 93,000 square foot facility designed to provide Mississippi citizens with technologically advanced investigative and analytical services. Services available at the SMEO include four main autopsy suites equipped with 55” monitors and the Avreo radiographic software program which is tied into the digital Quantum Medical Imaging system used for full body radiology. A fifth autopsy suite is dedicated to anthropology, and forensic odontology services are available in-house. Dental radiology is digital and uses the DEXIS software program and the NOMAD Pro 2 imaging equipment.

The Gulf Coast office, located in Biloxi, offers two autopsy suites, a radiology suite, and an office. The facility is also co-located with the Gulf Coast regional Forensics Laboratory; both share a campus with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. All resources of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are available to the satellite facility.