AUSTIN (KXAN) — In Texas when a pers on dies, a couple of different people can perform a death investigation: a justice of the peace or a medical examiner.
Only 14 of 254 counties in Texas employ a medical examiner, while the rest rely on a justice of the peace. A medical examiner has to undergo nearly a decade of study before they can officially determine cause and manner of death – through autopsy. While a justice of the peace receives training to conduct death investigations, this elected official has no medical education or expertise.
Explore KXAN’s project about Texas’ unique system for investigating deaths, and how it played into the questions that persist about the 1965 strangulation of a young girl.