Monroe County Gives District 16 Medical Examiner Unfavorable Rating on Reappointment Questionnaire

MARATHON, FL – The state Medical Examiners Commission is holding a meeting Wednesday, May 10, at 10 a.m. at the Hyatt Place Marathon/Florida Keys, 1996 Overseas Highway in Marathon. On its agenda is the reappointment nominations for the medical examiners of eight districts, including District 16 that is located in Monroe County. The three-year, Governor-appointed term of District 16 Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas R. Beaver ends June 30, 2017.

Prior to considering the reappointment of any medical examiner, the 9-member Commission – which oversees the state’s 25 Medical Examiner Districts — sends out a questionnaire to all local members of the law enforcement and criminal justice community, local funeral homes and the County, which provides the funding for the office.  Monroe County gave Dr. Beaver an “unfavorable” rating, citing difficulties dealing with his office on pauper burials and cremations and audit findings.

In the questionnaire, the County stated the Medical Examiner was excluding County staff and family members from the facilities even though the County built and pays for the facility.  The County also relayed complaints from local funeral homes that the Medical Examiner has been “butchering” the deceased during autopsies, making embalming difficult.

The County also included the results of an audit conducted a year ago by the Monroe County Clerk’s office.

In that audit report, the auditors wrote that the Medical Examiner had commingled funds and used public funds on what appeared to be personal items, including lease payments for his personal residence, vacations and entertainment.  The County requested the audit after receiving public complaints that the Medical Examiner was transporting bodies in the open bed of a pickup truck, once with a stop at a restaurant’s drive-through window at a restaurant’s drive-through window.

Other members of the local community also are expected to address the Commission about Dr. Beaver’s reappointment.

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