LaPorte County Coroner
ABOUT THE CORONERThe chief responsibility of the Coroner is to determine the cause and manner of death in cases involving casualty, violence, suspicious or unexplained death. A determination is made after an investigation is completed, in some cases after autopsy and toxicology studies are obtained.
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Mark P. Baker
(Dem)
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Lynn Swanson
(Rep)
How do your educational, job and life experiences qualify you for this office?
Why are you running for this office?
What are the biggest challenges facing the coroner's office during the upcoming term?
Given the rise of procedural television dramas, such as CIS, what is the most often misunderstood part of what a coroner does and process that must be followed?
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Campaign phone
219-851-5935
I am an Indiana State Certified Medicolegal Death Investigator. Currently I am the LaPorte County Coroner and previously a Deputy Coroner. I have a total of 14 years with the Coroners office. Attending workshops and continuing education keep me abreast of legislation and practices that are updated throughout the state.
I feel it is important to provide knowledgeable, compassionate and clear answers to family members who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Our job is to speak for the deceased about the final days or hours of their lives, we do that through thorough investigations as well as autopsy or toxicology studies if needed. This gives closure to families who otherwise may not know what happened to their loved ones. I want to continue to bring that to families.
The Coroners office continues to work with Law Enforcement, on the drug problem in LaPorte County. The challenges are always of course funding for autopsy and toxicology studies on overdose victims. Unfortunately there are very few options for grant funding for these but I would continue to look for avenues to save money and participate in programs to bring drug overdose education to the public.
Television does not represent what a coroner does in a factual way. Some residents in LaPorte County think all the Coroner does is pick up bodies and take them to the morgue. Results such as identification and DNA and toxicology are not as readily available as seen on television. What we do that is not seen, is the investigative part, speaking with families, responding to scenes as well as home death, photographs and then transporting to the hospital for autopsy if needed. We also stay with families of a home death until a funeral home arrives to take them into their care. Television takes out the personal attention given to families, and embellishes testing procedures.
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