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Author: Yujiemi Chisholm
Accreditation Document Repository

Medium Office: Case Involvement Documents

These documents pertain to case file closure – including cremains disposition, determining need for autopsy, identification, formal pronouncement of death – and address standards for IACME Agency Practices, section “A” as well as IACME Investigative Practices, section “B”. These examples are reflective of a medium-sized office with autopsies performed at other facilities.
July 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Medium Office: Investigative Practices Documents

These documents pertain to cremation permits and procedures, information security services, custodial deaths – including death scene investigation, and case reporting documentation/closure – and address standards for IACME Agency Practices, section “A” as well as IACME Investigative Practices, section “B”. These examples are reflective of a medium-sized office that performs autopsies in-house and at other facilities.
July 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Small Office: Mass Disaster Plan

These documents pertain to responding to mass fatality incidents and mutual aid, and address standards for NAME General, section “A”. These examples are reflective of a small office with autopsies performed at a hospital facility.
July 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Medium Office: Mass Disaster Plan

This policy example is designed to provide guidance on how to respond to a mass fatality incident, and addresses standards for IACME Agency Practices, section “A”. This example is reflective of a medium-sized office with autopsies performed at other facilities.
July 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Medium Office: Confidentiality and Training Documents

These documents pertain to organ donation, confidentiality, use of county property, uniforms, staff meetings, employee safety, internet content, social media policies, and standard operating procedures for training and address standards for IACME Agency Practices, section “A”. These examples are reflective of a medium-sized office with autopsies performed at other facilities.
July 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Large Office: Health and Safety Documents

These documents pertain to ethics, organ procurement, tissue removal, health, safety – including safety apparel – and procedures at the scene and address standards for NAME General, section “A”. These examples are reflective of a large office that performs autopsies in-house.
July 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Medium Office: Health and Safety Documents

These documents pertain to health, safety, ethics, organ tissue donation, court responsibilities, personal firearms, and guidance around cultural/religious differences and address standards for IACME Agency Practices, section “A”. These examples are reflective of a medium-sized office with autopsies performed at their state medical examiner’s office.
July 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Small Office: Safety, Confidentiality, and Quality Documents

These documents pertain to biohazard and other agency exposure, donation, confidentiality, quality review, and quality improvement and address standards for IACME Agency Practices, section “A”. These examples are reflective of a small office that performs autopsies in-house.
July 2025
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Air Force veteran identified from DNA 37 years after his death in Tarrant County

In 1987, the remains of an unidentified man were discovered in Tarrant County, Texas. Despite investigative efforts, the individual could not be identified, and the case remained unresolved for decades. In 2024, as part of a cold case review initiative funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office submitted a biological sample for advanced DNA testing and Forensic Genetic Genealogy. The DNA profile was uploaded to a genealogy database, where it produced matches to potential relatives and generated investigative leads. Outreach efforts and follow-up investigation identified family members, including a relative who reported a missing family member from 1987. Investigators then obtained historical fingerprint records associated with the individual and confirmed a match, establishing the decedent’s identity as Shirlee Lewis Henkel, a U.S. Air Force veteran reported missing from Colorado in 1987. Henkel was officially identified on June 25, 2025, and his family was notified the following day. His cremated remains were later located and returned to his family in April 2026, providing long-awaited resolution nearly four decades after his death.
June 2025
Accreditation Document Repository

Large Office: Postmortem Examination Documents

These documents pertain to autopsy reports and performing forensic examinations, and address standards for NAME Morgue Operations, section “C”. These examples are reflective of a large office that performs autopsies in-house.
June 2025