Spokane ends autopsy partnership with Kootenai County amid dispute

Spokane County’s medical examiner notified Kootenai County in mid-December that a decadeslong arrangement to perform autopsies would end, citing a personnel dispute that, officials say, undermined the working relationship between the two offices. The termination prompted the Spokane County Commission to approve a short contract extension through Jan. 31 to give Kootenai time to transition.

Spokane County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Veena Singh emailed Kootenai County Coroner Duke Johnson on Dec. 15, saying the partnership would end on Jan. 15 because of a disgruntled former employee. Singh wrote, “While of course your staff can act as they please and associate with whom they please, I am sure you can understand that I am not willing to spend SCMEO time and resources on assisting an office that is actively working against us.” Spokane officials declined to specify further, calling the matter a personnel issue.

Johnson said he was “blindsided.” He told county staff the long-standing arrangement, which began more than 30 years ago, came to an end without prior conversation between the offices. Kootenai has relied on Spokane because it does not have a facility up to standard to conduct autopsies locally, sending an average of about 70 bodies a year across the state line at roughly $2,000 per autopsy.

In email correspondence, Johnson pushed back on the accusation and asked for evidence. He wrote, “I have had absolutely no knowledge of the termination of this former employee and have no knowledge of who they are. I have just spoken with the employee here, that you are probably referring to, and he absolutely denies that he has been ‘working closely’ with this disgruntled former employee as you have stated or even working with her at all. He has not made any statements to union representatives. He had done absolutely nothing to support her defense in any way.” Johnson added, “In fact, the employee here states that he would be happy to also discuss this matter directly with you if needed.” He said the meeting Singh requested to confer with county commissioners never occurred.

Spokane County spokesman Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter said the short extension to Jan. 31 was approved to help Kootenai transition. She also noted that losing roughly $140,000 annually for autopsy services would not cause a budget shortfall for Kootenai County. Spokane may elect to offer autopsy services to another Washington county going forward.

Kootenai officials have already mapped short- and longer-term responses. In the immediate term the county will use a room inside a local funeral home while it modifies an empty sheriff’s office building to meet needs. Longer-term plans call for construction of a new coroner facility. Johnson said other options, such as sending bodies to Ada County in Boise, were cost prohibitive at around $5,000 per autopsy, and attempts to use Seattle facilities were denied.

For Coeur d’Alene and wider Kootenai County residents, the disruption matters for timelines around death investigations and funeral arrangements. Expect some administrative delays as the county shifts its procedures and works through cross-jurisdiction logistics. Our two cents? If you’re managing an estate or funeral plans, touch base early with the coroner’s office or your funeral director to understand potential timing changes and keep paperwork moving while offices sort the transition.