Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner
The Los Angeles County Department of Coroner was created in its present form in Boyle Heights on December 7, 1990 by an ordinance approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, though it has existed in some form since the late 19th century.
All physician staff is under the control of the Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran M.D. while the director Anthony Hernandez has authority to manage all non-physician operations and staff under the general direction of the Board of Supervisors. It is unique in the world in that it is the only coroner's office to have an active gift shop.[1]
Notable celebrities autopsied at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office
- Steve Allen
- Pier Angeli
- Bonnie Lee Bakley
- John Belushi
- Jonathan Brandis
- Christian Brando
- Susan Cabot
- Divine
- Dominique Dunne
- Trevor Goddard
- Ronald Goldman
- Brynn Hartman
- Phil Hartman
- William Holden
- Michael Jackson
- Rick James
- Janis Joplin
- Robert F. Kennedy
- Paul Lynde
- Sal Mineo
- Marilyn Monroe
- Brittany Murphy
- Jack Nance
- The Notorious B.I.G.
- Robert Pastorelli
- Chris Penn
- River Phoenix
- Freddie Prinze, Sr.
- Brad Renfro
- Nicole Brown Simpson
- Elliott Smith
- Sharon Tate
- Donda West
- Dennis Wilson
- Natalie Wood
- Andre Young, Jr.
