Tulsa Family Still Waiting For Death Certificate

By Jeffrey Smith, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- It's been a year of scandal for the state Medical Examiner's Office: high-profile lawsuits, allegations of misconduct, and on Tuesday, a first-degree rape charge against the agency's former top investigator.

Most people only deal with the ME's office to get a death certificate for a loved one. That process should take about six weeks, but for some families, the delay is almost six months.

Amy Bell's 31-year-old brother Bo passed away unexpectedly in his sleep. That was in early September.

"He loved old country music, so every time I hear a Hank Williams Jr. song, I think of him, and I sometimes just smile," said Amy Bell of her late brother, Bo.

The shock turned to grief and then acceptance, but she needed a death certificate to do things like close Bo's bank account and settle his life insurance. The ME's office told her to expect a 30 to 45 day wait.

Bo Bell's toxicology results were back within 60 days.

"The holidays came, the holidays went, and they had the results - but we didn't," Amy Bell said.

Bell has called the ME every two weeks since then. She understands autopsies are a top priority but says this delay is unacceptable. 

"It just takes a toll on you," she said. "It beats you down emotionally, every time you have go through it.

Funeral Director Daniel Schaudt comes to the Tulsa Health Department every few days to pick up death certificates. He says he understands what Bell's going through.

"It just puts families through a lot of turmoil. They have a lot of unanswered questions, they can't handle financial responsibilities they have, they can't settle a person's estate," Schaudt said.

The ME's office admits they're understaffed, and they are trying to get the funding to hire a third pathologist. In 2009, each of Tulsa's two forensic pathologists performed more than 400 autopsies.

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"You go through a process," said Tulsan Amy Bell, whose brother died in September, 2009.

"You get the autopsy results; you get the lab results; you file them. There's no reason it should take four months to do all that. It's just absurd," she said.

On Tuesday afternoon, five months after Bo passed away, Bell finally learned a cause of death. She says she finally began feeling a little bit of peace.

Amy Bell is still waiting for the coroner to issue her brother's death certificate. She says the ME's office told her it should arrive in about two weeks.