Deputy Coroner Addresses Eighth Grade Students

Farmington Classes Hear How Science Can Be Used In Careers

FARMINGTON —A Washington County deputy coroner spoke to eighth grade science students last week about the duties and responsibilities of the coroner's office.

The information should come in handy when the students create their own crime scene at the end of the year.

Deputy Coroner Cory Whorton said the coroner's office works in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies but the office has the sole responsibility of determining how a person died. The coroner can take control of a crime scene and has the authority to remove others from the scene if necessary.

“We control a crime scene for the death investigation,” Whorton said.

The most common cause of death, Whorton said, is natural cause. For infants under one, the most common cause of death is sudden infant death syndrome. For teenagers, the most common form of death is by suicide. And for people in their 20s, car accidents are the most common cause of death, according to Whorton.

The coroner's off ice uses information from three sources to determine when a person died: pulse, temperature and lividity. Other samples, including blood, urine and fluid from behind the eye, are extracted to help determine the cause of death.

An important part of the job, Whorton said, is dealing with grieving families.

“We try to be as caring as we can while still maintaining a professional law enforcement attitude,” he explained.

Sometimes, the coroner's office will help families locate services that are available to help with grief and other emotions.

Washington County has multiple deaths everyday, Whorton said, noting the office phone constantly rings. The coroner or a deputy coroner is required to investigate any death that is suspicious. In addition, if a person dies in the emergency room, the coroner's office investigates the death to make sure foul play was not involved.

Voss said she asked Whorton to speak to her classes to show how science is involved in different careers. Whorton has a master's degree in public adminis- tration from the University of Pennsylvania and a political science degree, with a minor in chemistry, from Rhodes College. He has been with the coroner's office for about a year.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Washington County Deputy Coroner Cory Whorton explains about the different body bags used by the coroner’s office. A blue bag is used for an average body; yellow is used for larger bodies and infants are placed in white bags. Whorton addressed eighth...