Q&A with Jefferson County Coroner Chad Kelley

One of the most important jobs in each county is the job performed by the county coroner and their deputies. They are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, and 365 days per year.

At times the public is able to see parts of the job that a coroner or deputy coroner performs, while other parts of the job are done behind closed doors.

Jefferson County Coroner Chad Kelley sat down with DeltaplexNews.com to give an inside look at several parts of his job, what made him decide to get into the career of being a coroner, a description of all duties of a coroner, and more.

This is a lengthy article, but it is full of details, laws, and more.

The questions from DeltaplexNews.com are in BOLD, while Coroner Kelley’s answers are in ITALICS.

Deltaplex News: What made you decide to take the career path you have chosen?

Coroner Kelley: “When I was interviewed for the position at the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office by the previous Coroner (Holly Watkins-Sperry), all I was going to be doing was managing the Coroner’s Office during the week – Monday – Friday from 8:00 until 4:30 and I was completely good with that.  To be honest, I was more than good with that because being in my very early twenties, I had no desire whatsoever to see, touch or smell a dead body.

 After I had been at the Coroner’s Office for a couple of years, I had learned the process of filling out all the paperwork from the Office Investigation Report Forms to Medical Examiner Reports. The Coroner had an opening and was saying one day while we were talking that she was dreading the interview/training process.  This is one of those jobs that you can’t give someone a book and say this is what is going to happen on a Natural Death, Homicide, Suicide, Drug Overdose, Fatality Accident, Infant Death, Work Related Death and the reason that I say this is because none of these cases are ever the same or even close to being the same – meaning there is no standard guidelines that you go by.

 I had to talk her into letting me go with her on a few cases to see if I could handle it because she was very hesitant but did relent.  I started going out on cases, taking call and working cases on my own.  I worked my way from being the Office Administrator to Office Administrator/Deputy Coroner to ultimately Chief Deputy Coroner and did so for a number of years.

When she decided to retire in 2008, I made the decision to run for Coroner and won by a landslide victory.

Ultimately to give you a direct answer regarding your question, I don’t think of my job as the Coroner of Jefferson County as a “Career Path”.  I think of it as this is what God put me here to do.  It was not necessarily a path that I choose but that chose me and honestly, I don’t question it.”

Deltaplex News: What does it mean to you to be able to serve the citizens of Jefferson County?

Coroner Kelley “It means a great deal to me personally due to the fact that I always put myself in their shoes and remember that I have to treat them the way I would want to be treated or a member of my family treated.  If I am able to help a family during one of the most traumatic times in their lives and make the process a little then I will do whatever I am able to do.  However, it isn’t necessarily about me it is about the people of this county and taking care of them when they need someone to help, listen or just a shoulder to cry on.”

Deltaplex News: What are the basic responsibilities of your job other than just pronouncing death and picking up the deceased?

Coroner Kelley:

I  Investigation

 “View the body and pronounce the subject dead.  Arkansas State Law 42-1212 states that when a person dies under the following circumstances or as a result of the following causes the Coroner must be notified:

1. Accidental deaths (See Item 9 Letter H Number 3 for Description).
2. Death of a patient that occurs within five days of admission to the hospital from a long-term care facility.
3. Homicide deaths (See Item 9 Letter H Number 1 for Description).
4. Suicidal deaths (See Item 9 Letter H Number 2 for Description).
5. Deaths due to abortions, criminal mischief or self-induced.
6. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (More commonly known as “SIDS” is the major cause of death of an infant after the first month of the child’s life) any death of an infant where there is doubt to the cause of death.
7. Sudden deaths if the death occurs when the person is in good health or if the death occurs in a suspicious or unusual manner. Some of these would include:
8. Alcoholism
9. Sudden death at home, on the street, in a public place or place of employment
10. Death as a result of an injury at work or if the death can be linked to the type of work the victim is performing
11. All deaths occurring within 24 hours of admission to the hospital unless the patient has been under the care of a physician for a natural disease, which resulted in death.
12. Dead on arrival to the emergency room of a hospital
13. Any death where there is doubt or suspicion the Coroner must:
14. Determine the disposition of the body:  The exact location of the body at the time of death is essential and should be carefully documented.
15. Collect evidence: Anything that is on the body at the time of death.
16. Examine the body: Determine the exact location of the body as well as any injury or abnormality to the body.
17. Record and document: Document the location of the body, the clothing, the environment (the temperature inside or outside), injury/abnormality to the body, time pronounced dead, law enforcement on scene, possible medications the decedent might have taken, the list time the decedent was seen alive and the next of kin’s name.
18. Photograph the body as well as the scene: The scene environment affects the body’s post-mortem changes.  It is important to document the temperature, amount of moisture, air movement and lighting in the area where the body is found.  The type of surface upon which the victim is resting will also affect the amount of body heat lost.  In the event the body will be autopsied by the medical examiner or privately, one must be careful in handling the victim and the attached clothing so that any evidence will remain on them.
19. Relay necessary information to law enforcement: Advise the investigating agency of findings such as the number of wounds/injuries and medical history.
20. Notify the pertinent authorities.
21. Determine the cause and manner of death:  For the purpose of signing death certificates and explaining the cause to the next of kin.  This determination deals with the legal implications superimposed on biological and mechanism of death:
22. Homicide:  Someone else causes the victim’s death; whether by intention (robber shoots store clerk) or criminal negligence (drunk driving going 55 mph on Cherry Street runs a red light at 28^th Street and strikes a pedestrian in a crosswalk).  After the forensic determination is made, it may of course be altered as a result of a grand jury or other legal inquiry.  For example, when one child shoots another.  The forensic examination may conclude from the body that homicide was the manner of death, but after considering all the forensic evidence, a grand jury may conclude the gun discharge accidentally.
23. Suicide: The victim caused his/her own death on purpose.  This may not always be straightforward.  For instance, a victim may strangle himself accidentally during autoerotic behavior (apparently some people find a certain amount of hypoxia very stimulating).  If the examiner were not to consider the evidence (such as erotic literature found near the body), an incorrect determine of “suicide by hanging” might be made.  This error may be financially disastrous for the victim’s survivors, since many life insurance policies do not forward benefits when the insured is a suicide.  Also, in some cultures suicide is a social stigma or a sin against its deity.
24. Accidental: In this manner of death, the individual falls victim to a hostile environment.  Some degree of human negligence may be involved in accidental deaths, but the magnitude of the negligence falls short of that reasonably expected in negligent homicide.  Whereas the negligence of the speeding drunk above would be considered gross by a reasonable observer, a pedestrian killed at the same intersection by a sober driver, not speeding or running a red light, would be reasonably be considered a victim of accidental death.
25. Natural Causes: Here the victim dies in the absence of an environment reasonably considered hostile to human life.  Most bodies referred for forensic examination represent this manner of death.
26. Secure property:  Take into custody personal property that was found on the decedent at the time of death for safekeeping until releasing to next of kin at a later date.
27. Notify the next of kin and making positive identification: This may be done in various methods that include:
28. Visually (From photographs, etc)
29. Dental and/or medical records
30. Scars, tattoos and/or marks
31. Personal papers and/or documents
32. Clothing and/or jewelry
33. Remove fluids (Blood, Urine and Vitreous) for toxicological studies:  This is done for the purpose of determining if the person was possibly poisoned, had drugs/alcohol in their system or if carbon monoxide might have played a part in the death.

 II Administration

1. Keep complete records of all deaths within Jefferson County: This includes the Coroner’s Report, photographs, medical records and the law enforcement agency that is in conjunction investigating.
2. Sign all legal documents: If, after conducting an investigation, the Coroner is satisfied the death is not the result of a crime and knows to a reasonable certainty the cause and manner of death, then the Coroner shall proceed to execute a death certificate in the form and manner required by law and release the body for final disposition.
3. Coordinate information for families: This includes reviewing autopsy results with families when received and advising of findings during the investigation.
4. Testify in court: This typically is done in homicide and accidental death cases in regard to the results of the investigation done by the Coroner.
5. Protect the privacy of the death.
6. Locate the deceased person’s family members: This will sometimes involve using local law enforcement agencies that are working with the Coroner on the investigation, as well as out of state law enforcement agencies.
7. Notification of the news media: When notifying the news media, this is done after the next of kin has been notified and advised of the death.
8. Counseling of families: As previously stated above, this includes reviewing the autopsy results with the next of kin, explaining the cause of death and explaining the cause.

III Public Awareness

1. Public Service:  This involves in the winter months putting information in the local newspaper regarding hypothermia as well as the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.  During the summer months the signs of heat stroke and water safety, due to the large numbers of people being around swimming pools, the rivers and lakes.
2. Community Programs: Give programs to various churches, organizations, college classes regarding the signs of suicide, the dangers of drugs/alcohol and educating on the workings of the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.
3. Junior and Senior High School Programs:
4. Being Careful (Think Before You Act!)
5. Alcohol and Drugs
6. Suicidal Prevention
7. Auto Safety

 These are all programs that are given in the effort to educate the young people of this county about the dangers of alcohol/drugs, being aware of their friends and any possible changes in their behavior that may indicate they are thinking of suicide, and the importance of being responsible when learning to drive an automobile.”

Deltaplex News: If you could change one thing about the description of your job, what would it be?

Coroner Kelley: “I will be perfectly honest, there isn’t just one particular thing that I would change about the description of my job.  There are a few misconceptions about being the Coroner and the Coroner’s Office that I would change.

1. There is a misconception the Coroner’s Position is a Part-Time Position. This is a false statement.  The Coroner and Deputy Coroner’s are on call 24 Hours, 7 Days a week and 365 Days a year.  The Coroner is like the County Sheriff and County Judge, we are always on call.  I would definitely change this.
2. My Deputy Coroners are paid $100 per 24 Hour Call Period they take or $50.00 per 12 Hour Call Period they take. I would definitely increase the salary that they make.  Which another misconception is they are all “Full Time” however they are not.  They are all considered “Part Time/Extra Help”, which I would change some to “Full Time”, given the opportunity and funding.
3. The facility we are located in currently, which Former Jefferson County Sheriff/Current County Judge Gerald Robinson is in the process of trying to build a new Coroner’s Office that is more modernized and in a better location.

In regard to being more modernized and location, I am referring to the Coroner’s Office being located in the 100 Block of Main Street and we are all fully aware of the condition of those buildings downtown, unfortunately.  The current facility was moved into in the early 1980s and has deteriorated over time like most of the buildings in that area due to the age. When I say deteriorated, I am making reference to constant roof leaks which has caused ceiling tiles to fall in and the mortar in the walls deteriorating due to the age of the building.

The previous County Judges were helpful to an extent however, due to Judge Robinson being the Former Sheriff of Jefferson County and his many capacities prior to becoming Sheriff with the Sheriff’s Office has given him a better understanding than the previous County Judge’s (no slight to them meant) as to exactly what the Coroner’s Office does.  The reason I say this is because he has been out on multiple scenes with us, has helped on scene and even assisted with notification of families.

Which on a side note, I do have to give credit to Judge Robinson along with his Chief of Staff Pam Jenkins for their work in getting a new facility built and the tremendous support they have shown for the Coroner’s Office during Judge Robinson’s first term in office.  I believe with my entire being that he has the best interest of Jefferson County and her residents in his heart and wants only the best for both as does Ms. Jenkins.  We have a great working relationship and I feel a mutual respect for one another which makes working together so much easier.

4. As you can see from the Duties of the Coroner that I have spoken about above, it isn’t just going out and saying “Yes, this person is deceased so we are going to call the funeral home” and our job is done. I would like the residents and I believe in my heart that most do see and understand being the Coroner or a Deputy Coroner isn’t doing that but so much more.
5. I would have one possibly two full time Deputy Coroners due to all the ones that I currently have are part time.
6. I would increase the budget for the Coroner’s Office to at least half of some of the other County Offices.

Fortunately for the Coroner’s Office, with the assistance of Council Members Joni Alexander, Win Trafford and Ivan Whitfield the Coroner’s Office was able to obtain additional funding of $10,000.00 this year.  Which has been exceptionally helpful especially with the current COVID-19 Crisis that we are dealing with.  I am without a doubt grateful to those 3 Council Members, the remaining Council and Mayor Shirley Washington for this additional funding.”

Deltaplex News: You have several deputies. Who are they, and how helpful are they to you?

Coroner Kelley: “I do have several deputies, like I mentioned previously they are all considered “Part Time/Extra Help”, they are, Eric Belcher, Michael Boykin, April Davis, Douglas McCurry and Kim Phillips.    Additionally, the former Coroner Holly Watkins-Sperry is my Administrative Assistant and is the only other “Full Time” employee aside from myself at the Coroner’s Office.

 The majority of my Deputies have “Full Time Jobs” and we work their time at the Coroner’s Office around their other jobs.  Most of them do an exceptional job taking care of the people of Jefferson County and I am extremely proud of those that do.”