Coroner Dr. Ogle urges county to fund morgue, raise investigator pay

Dr. Ogle, Knox County's coroner, urged the Board of Commissioners to fund a county morgue and to increase base pay for death investigators, saying current arrangements are unsafe and undignified. "We don't have a morgue," she told commissioners. She explained that the county's temporary solution is a cooler at the sheriff's office that is rated for three bodies but that, in practice, she will not put more than one body into that space because of decomposition and handling concerns.

Dr. Ogle outlined staffing and pay: the office's structure includes an office administrator (also trained as a death investigator), a chief death investigator and another investigator, and she estimated the office accepts about 60 cases per year and fields roughly 5–10 related phone calls weekly. She said investigators are currently paid low base amounts: one investigator receives $200 per pay period, the administrator $640 per pay period, and the chief investigator $309 per pay period; investigators also receive per-case payments when they accept cases. "A lot of them are getting paid less than minimum wage," she said, and she contrasted local pay with a cited Ohio average of about $35 an hour for medical-legal death investigators.

Commissioners and Dr. Ogle discussed a county-owned building near the jail that will be vacant and could be evaluated by an architect for conversion. The commissioners agreed to have staff and an architect assess whether the building could be modified (garage door, cooler/freezer, lift/gurneys, security cameras and limited office space). Dr. Ogle said a practical target capacity would be room for 4–6 bodies eventually while noting a smaller start (2–3) could be acceptable; she also asked for a freezer to preserve bodies that may be held long-term.

Officials discussed transport arrangements — Dr. Ogle said the office does not have county vehicles and relies on private transport companies because local funeral homes increasingly decline transport — and security needs for any dedicated facility. The board asked Dr. Ogle to prepare a written pay proposal and tasked county staff to have an architect evaluate the vacant county building; commissioners asked for follow-up by email and said they would work to develop a plan.

Dr. Ogle framed the request as a combination of dignity for the deceased, safety and worker protection: better equipment, a lift to ease handling and base pay increases to reflect on-call responsibilities. Commissioners expressed appreciation for the office's work and agreed to pursue next steps.