Description:
Please read this sheet and the job description before applying
This is a Part-Time position that requires 24/7 on-call availability to respond during your designated on-call scheduled time slot (generally 1 week per month). You must be at least 21 years of age, have a cell phone, a valid driver’s license, and reliable transportation. (This position requires the use of your personal vehicle, as a county vehicle is not provided.)
Pay Structure
- For case we accept jurisdiction, you will receive $150.00
- For case we decline jurisdiction, you will receive $25.00
- For training attended, you will receive $18.75/hour
- You will be paid mileage at a predetermined Tippecanoe County amount
Please keep in mind that you will only be compensated if the circumstances described above occur.
Mandatory Training and Certification
- You will need to be available to attend the Medicolegal Death Investigator 40-hour training course from October 6-11, 2026, in Indianapolis. Registration, hotel, and per diem will be paid for by Tippecanoe County.
Job Description:
To perform this position successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function of the position satisfactorily. The requirements listed in this document represent the knowledge, skill, and ability required. Tippecanoe County provides reasonable accommodations to qualified employees and applicants with known disabilities who require an accommodation to complete the application process or perform essential functions of the job unless those accommodations would present an undue hardship.
The Deputy Coroner serves as a Certified Medicolegal Death Investigator (MDI) for the Tippecanoe County Coroner. The Deputy Coroner is responsible for investigating deaths which fall in the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Jurisdiction.
DUTIES:
Conducts and initiates investigations into the cause and manner of death of any individual whose death falls under the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s jurisdiction according to applicable state and local laws, regulations, and guidelines to include homicides, suicides, accidental, natural, and undetermined manners of death.
Establishes jurisdiction of death cases and responds to death scenes to consult with family, police, firefighters, doctors, nurses, paramedics, witnesses, or others regarding the circumstances surrounding the death.
Conducts thorough death scene investigations, photographs the death scene and the decedent, and conducts interviews all while implementing proper forensic, crime scene, and death investigation technologies and practices.
Coordinates and works with law enforcement agencies in the preservation and collection of evidence, maintenance of chain of custody, and processing of the death scene. Collects and secures necessary medications and/or personal property of the decedent that are pertinent to the death investigation.
Interviews witnesses and relatives of the decedent and gathers/verifies the medical history of the decedent to help determine the need for toxicology and/or autopsy on a case-by-case basis.
Completes investigatory documents and reports as required, such as deputy case narratives, SUIDI case forms, and on-scene doll reenactments as necessary.
Obtains blood, urine, or other biohazard samples and specimens from the deceased, as necessary, to determine the cause and manner of death.
Reviews all medical records necessary to determine case and manner of death in instances where an autopsy is deemed unnecessary. Renders cause and manner of death so that the death certificate can be certified.
Communicates with body transport services to arrange for the removal of the decedent from the death scene/hospital.
Conducts necessary follow-up investigations and communications.
Attends in-service or other training programs for certification.
Periodically attends and participates in depositions as needed.
Attends and successfully completes State Commission certified death investigations class as required. Maintains certification through continuing education hours as required by state law.
Serves on 24-hour call rotation as assigned.
Performs related duties as assigned.
Requirements:
I. JOB REQUIREMENTS AND DIFFICULTY OF WORK:
High school diploma or GED and ability to successfully complete required training.
Must be at least 21 years of age.
Ability to obtain, possess, and maintain certification of Medico-Legal Death Investigation certification issued by the Indiana Coroner’s Training Board as required by Indiana State Law. Ability to maintain required emergency management training, licensure, and/or certifications.
Ability to complete a minimum of 16 hours of training every two years.
Thorough knowledge of and ability to make practical application of state and local rules and regulations regarding duties and authority of coroners.
Working knowledge of and ability to make practical application of various related fields of science, such as pathology, forensics, anatomy, and criminal investigation.
Working knowledge of blood borne pathogens control, and ability to follow universal health precautions at all times to prevent infection of self and others.
Ability to properly secure death scenes, bodies, collected evidence, and personal property of decedent, in conjunction with police agencies.
Ability to properly operate a computer and camera, and accurately complete required documents and reports.
Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing with state and local law enforcement, other emergency personnel, mortuaries, news media, physicians, witnesses, decedents' next of kin, and the public, including being sensitive to professional ethics, gender, cultural diversities and disabilities.
Ability to periodically provide testimony in legal proceedings.
Ability to competently serve the public with diplomacy and respect, including occasional encounters with irate/hostile persons.
Ability to comply with all employer/department personnel policies and work rules, including, but not limited to, attendance, safety, drug-free workplace, and personal conduct.
Ability to provide public access to or maintain confidentiality of department information/records according to state requirements.
Ability to work alone and with others in a team environment, and maintain appropriate, respectful interrelationships with co-workers.
Ability to adapt to changing work environments and irregular hours. Ability to regularly work extended, weekend and/or evening hours, and occasionally travel out of town, but not overnight.
Ability to serve on 24-hour call rotation, and appropriately respond from off-duty status, despite the stress of exposure to distraught persons and disturbing evidence, such as deaths involving violence.
Possession of a valid Indiana driver's license and a demonstrated safe driving record.
II. RESPONSIBILITY:
Appointee performs a broad scope of duties involving non-routine decisions in determining unexplained human deaths.
Appointee's decisions regarding cause and manner of death are final and cannot be overruled. Work is performed according to legally defined procedures, and standard practices of the profession, and is reviewed for soundness of judgement, technical accuracy, and compliance with legal requirements and department policy.
III. PERSONAL WORK RELATIONSHIPS:
Incumbent maintains frequent contact with co-workers, other County departments, various law enforcement agencies, funeral homes, insurance companies, area hospitals and nationwide hospitals, toxicology lab, township trustees, Indiana Organ Procurement Organization, State Coroner’s Association, Veterans’ Administration, and the public to receive and give information and providing information.
Reports directly to County Coroner.
IV. PHYSICAL EFFORT AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Appointee communicates frequently with state and local law enforcement personnel, other emergency personnel, medical personnel, mortuaries, witnesses, decedents' next of kin, and the public, for purposes of exchanging information, coordinating investigations, and resolving problems.
Appointee performs duties in a standard office environment, in a vehicle, and at scenes of death, involving sitting and walking at will, bending, crouching/kneeling, working in confined areas, handling/grasping objects, and occasionally lifting/carrying objects weighing more than 100 pounds. Appointee may be exposed to distraught individuals, disturbing evidence, inclement weather, and blood borne pathogens, for which universal health precautions must be followed at all times to prevent infection of self and others.
Appointee serves on 24-hour call rotation. Appointee regularly works extended, weekend and/or evening hours, and occasionally travels out of town, but not overnight.
Appointee reports directly to Coroner
