Medical examiner outlines autopsy and toxicology process; Milwaukee handles postmortem testing

Patrice "Patty" Malloy described the county’s workflow for suspicious deaths: her office investigates and transports decedents to Milwaukee County for autopsy when warranted, where board-certified forensic pathologists perform the examinations and accredited labs run postmortem toxicology. "Autopsies are completed at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office by a board certified forensic pathologist," she said, and noted postmortem testing protocols differ from ante-mortem clinical testing.

Malloy walked the committee through sample collection — blood, urine and vitreous humor — and explained that local public-health labs cannot substitute for specialized postmortem accreditation. She said pathologists use gross autopsy findings, histology and toxicology amounts to determine cause of death and whether substances contributed.