FAQs
James "Jimmy" Roberts D-ABMDI, Coroner
General Information
Frequently Asked Questions
On behalf of the Bingham County Coroner’s Office, we offer our deepest sympathy to you for your loss.
This is a difficult time, and we know that you will have many questions. We hope that you will find this helpful in answering those questions as you go through the next several days and weeks. Please take time to review the information and feel free to call us if you need any additional information.
General
Q. How do I contact the Bingham County Coroner’s Office?
- The Bingham County Coroner’s Office can be reached by calling 208-782-3040. As our office is not staffed please leave a message and someone will return your call as soon as possible.
Q. What funeral home should I use?
- Because the Bingham County Coroner’s Office is a governmental office, we can’t refer families to a specific funeral home. We encourage you to consult with your family and friends for recommendations.
Q. Who can make funeral arrangements or final disposition decisions for a decedent?
- Only next-of-kin or the individual who holds a durable power of attorney for health care for your loved one can make funeral arrangements or final disposition arrangements for your loved one. A significant other or friend, regardless of how long they have known or been involved with your loved one, cannot make arrangements unless they have legal documentation authorizing them to do so.
Q. Do I need to come to the Bingham County Coroner’s Office to identify my loved one? Can I view my loved one at the Bingham County Coroner’s Office?
- No. You won’t be asked to come the Bingham County Coroner’s Office to complete an identification. The Coroner and staff of the Bingham County Coroner’s Office along with our contracted forensic pathology center work diligently to properly identify each decedent we encounter.
- Viewing your loved one in the comfort of the funeral home setting is the only option available in Bingham County.
Q. How do I get my loved one’s personal items back?
- Your loved one’s personal items will be released with him/her to the funeral home chosen by legal next-of-kin. The funeral home will then arrange a time with legal next-of-kin to receive those personal items.
Q. Will my loved one receive an autopsy? How will I know if an autopsy is performed?
- The Coroner will review the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s death and decide whether to perform an autopsy based on the standards of forensic practice outline by the National Association of Medical Examiners.
- Legal next-of-kin will be notified when a decision has been made to perform an autopsy. Your investigator will contact you and answer any questions you may have.
Q. Why is the Coroner’s Office investigating my loved one’s death?
- The Bingham County Coroner’s Office is governed by Idaho Statutes. These statutes require that the Coroner investigate certain types of deaths to determine cause and manner of death.
- The following list does not cover all types of deaths that require investigations, but deaths requiring investigation generally include:
- Death associated with trauma or violence, whether homicide, suicide or accident.
- Deaths associated with suspicious or unusual or unnatural circumstances.
- Deaths not attended by a physician and where the cause of death cannot be certified by a physician.
- Deaths who are unclaimed, exposed or unidentified.
- Death occurring with 24 hours of admission to a hospital or deaths in the ER.
- Deaths due to infections or contagious disease or other potentially hazardous public health conditions.
- Death of children under 18 who do not have a significant diagnosis that led to death.
Q. My loved one had an autopsy. Will we still be able to have an open casket funeral?
- The surgical procedures used to perform an autopsy do not interfere with having an open casket funeral.
Q. What if I do NOT want an autopsy performed?
- The Coroner authorizes autopsies based on the circumstances surrounding the death and the need to determine cause and manner of death; however, the investigator will note your concern and share that information with the Coroner. Under Idaho Code 19-4103B either the Coroner or Prosecuting Attorney can order an autopsy. This decision does not require the consent of the next-of-kin.
Q. What if I want an autopsy to be completed and the Coroner’s Office is not going to do one?
- The Coroner reviews each case to decide if an autopsy is needed to determine cause and manner of death. If the Coroner determines that the cause and manner of death can be accurately determined without an autopsy, absent a request by the prosecuting attorney an autopsy will not be completed. However, the investigator will note your concern or request in the case file and share that information with the Coroner. If a final decision is made to not complete an autopsy and you still wish to have one completed, you will need to arrange for a private autopsy to be completed by a private pathologist at a local medical facility.
Q. Where will my loved one’s autopsy take place?
- The Bingham County Coroner’s Office currently contracts with the Ada County Coroner’s Office for forensic pathology services. The Ada County Coroner’s Office is currently the only Nationally accredited forensic pathology center in the Pacific Northwest.
Q. When will my loved one be released by the Coroner’s Office?
- Once the autopsy has been completed your loved one will be released to the funeral home chosen.
Q. How long does it take to determine the cause and manner of death?
- There is not a set amount of time for determining the cause and manner of death. Each case is unique to that individual. An autopsy or forensic inspection is generally conducted as soon as possible based on scheduling with the forensic pathology center. Our staff works diligently to determine cause and manner of death; however, we cannot guarantee a specific time frame for those to be completed as they are dependent upon the unique circumstances of the investigation for each individual.
Q. How long does it take for toxicology results to come back?
- The Bingham County Coroner’s Office uses an outside facility for toxicology testing and there is no set time when we will get the results back. Toxicology results can take anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks to be completed.
Q. My loved one had an autopsy. When will results be available?
- The autopsy procedure is very comprehensive examination, and the process, along with any additional associated testing, is time consuming. The final report (known as an autopsy report) may be delayed due to case load. If you would like to find out if there are preliminary autopsy findings, you may call and request to speak with the investigator on the case. An autopsy report for cases with criminal charges will not be released for 45 days after sentencing and/or all appeal times have passed.
Q. There is blood and other body fluid or biohazardous materials in the location where my loved one died. Who can I call to help clean the area?
- There are a number of biohazard and scene clean-up companies that can be found on the internet and in the phone book. Homeowners insurance or renter’s insurance may help with these costs and you will want to contact your insurance company to get more information.
Q. Do I have to pay for Coroner services (Autopsy, investigation, specimen testing, etc.?)
- The Bingham County Coroner’s Office is a county government office funded by tax dollars. Standard services provided by the Coroner’s Office, in cases under the judication of the office, are completed at no additional cost to your loved one’s immediate family. In certain cases, the Coroner’s Office may charge fees for non-standard services.
Q. What do I do next?
- We recommend that you seek support from family and friends in this difficult time. If you are the legal next-of-kin or legally authorized person, you will need to begin making final arrangements for loved your one. Once you have selected a funeral home, the director can guide you and help you fill out all necessary paperwork.
Q. Will I be told the cause and manner of death of my loved one?
- Yes. In cases when there is an autopsy or forensic inspection is completed for your loved one, the investigator will contact the legal next-of-kin, and will let you know what the final cause and manner of death are and update you on test results.
- Cause of death is the medical condition(s) or process that resulted in your loved one’s death.
- Manner of death is the circumstance of or the way that death occurred, such as Natural, Accident, Homicide, Suicide, or Undetermined.
Requesting reports, photos and copies
Q. How do I get a copy of the autopsy report or forensic inspection report?
- The legal next-of-kin or durable power of attorney for health care may request a copy of the autopsy report or forensic inspection report from the Coroner’s Office
- Please contact the Coroner’s Office at 208-782-3040 or find the request for records request form located on our website: Bingham County Idaho - Coroner (binghamid.gov) in “Family resources”
- Reports become available once received from our pathology center unless there is legal action pending.
Q. Can I request copies of photos taken?
- In the event that there is a lawsuit filed with the court or there are other legal matters where you have hired an attorney and photos are required, your attorney can submit a formal request for a copy of the photos needed. This request will be reviewed by legal staff for Bingham County and you and/or your attorney will be notified of the outcome of that review.
Q. Can I get copies of other case documents?
- Copies of other documents such as medical records, legal records, police reports, etc. gathered for the investigation will not be released by the Bingham County Coroner’s Office. You will need to contact the agencies or organizations who created those documents directly and request copies.
Confirmation of Death Letters and Probate Information
Q. I’ve been asked to provide a Confirmation of Death. What do I do?
- A death certificate acts as a confirmation of death.
- There may be time when you are asked to provide a confirmation of death by an organization or business such as your loved one’s life insurance company and the death certificate in not yet available. In those cases, you can request a confirmation of death letter from the Coroner’s Office. We can provide a confirmation of death letter if there will be delay with the death certificate.
- You will need to request the confirmation of death letter directly from the Coroner.
Q. Do I have to go to probate?
- Idaho law regulates probate actions. You should contact an attorney to help you understand what your options are.
My Loved One’s Medication
Q. Why were my loved one’s medications collected?
- Your investigator collects all medications prescribed to or possibly taken by your loved one when they respond to a scene. These medications are reviewed, counted and compared to when prescriptions were filled to determine compliance with medications. Once the medications are cataloged, they are destroyed in a safe manner.
Q. What steps should I take if I found medications belonging to my loved one?
- Contact your investigator immediately and let them know what medications you’ve located. They may have several questions for you so having the medication bottles with you when you call will be helpful.
Q. Can I simply throw the medication away?
No.
- PLEASE don’t dispose of your loved one’s medication without notifying your investigator. It’s important to the accuracy and completeness of the investigation of your loved one’s death.
- In order to protect others, reduce misuse, and protect the water system, proper disposal of the medications in a safe manner is important.
- Do not flush medications down the toilet/drain.