LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Autopsy reports rarely come with barbed comments. So eyebrows rose when the autopsy results of 14-year-old were released with a statement from the Los Angeles County chief medical examiner saying it was 鈥渦nfathomable鈥� her grieving parents had to wait months to learn how their daughter died.
The autopsy performed on the dismembered body found in a had been sealed by a court order in the investigation that led to murder charges for . Dr. Odey Ukpo’s comment with the report was his most pointed effort yet to emphasize his office鈥檚 independence from police and prosecutors, as well as his desire to make as much death information public as soon as possible.
, this week faces a crucial preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence for a trial. Ukpo’s agency, which determined Rivas Hernandez died from stab wounds, plays a major role, as it has in other prominent cases, including following the death of and the killings of director and his wife, photographer .
Ukpo, 46, sat for a recent in the building where he performed autopsies for nearly a decade before getting the head role in 2023. He has always welcomed the celebrity cases that Los Angeles brings, saying the scrutiny they receive and the likelihood of misinformation spreading are strong incentives to do careful, irrefutable work. And they provide an opportunity to show what his office does and what kind of dangers the community may face.
鈥淚 should be able to anticipate the strongest arguments or the most interesting questions by the work that I鈥檝e done,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f I haven鈥檛, then something鈥檚 missing.鈥�
鈥淟ife is complicated, but death is simple,鈥� Ukpo said.
The medical examiner pushes back on police secrecy
Ukpo doesn’t believe sealing autopsy reports helps police investigations, including in the killing of Celeste.
鈥淭hat goes completely against our mission,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so important for us to release the information that she did not die from something natural, she did not die from drugs, she was stabbed. And then we start to look back at what made her vulnerable to be in that situation.鈥�
A court-ordered security hold still seals the Reiner autopsies. Authorities said immediately after their deaths that they had been stabbed by their son, who has pleaded not guilty, but little information has followed. Ukpo said he would discuss the findings 鈥� if he was allowed.
鈥淭he Reiners鈥� case is one that鈥檚 straightforward,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unclear to me what sort of information we have that would ruin the case.鈥�
Sometimes there is no good reason for secrecy, he said.
鈥淧eople say: 鈥榃hy would they get the information out there? Because then the case is just going to go awry.鈥� But awry? How? What information?鈥� he said, adding: 鈥淭he killer knows what they did.鈥�
The LA County Sheriff鈥檚 Department said in a statement that security holds 鈥渁re rarely requested and are carefully reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether temporarily withholding the autopsy report is necessary to preserve sensitive investigative information.鈥� It said the reports can contain details 鈥渢hat only the person responsible would know,鈥� meaning detectives can use that knowledge to assess the credibility of witness statements and uncover false confessions.
The Los Angeles Police Department, which handled the D4vd and Reiner cases, did not respond to a request for comment, and the district attorney’s office declined comment.
A change to his title underscores Ukpo’s independence
Ukpo was appointed chief medical examiner-coroner in 2023, becoming the agency’s first Black leader since it was founded in 1850. His staff responds to more than 12,000 sudden, unexpected and premature deaths per year.
The was dropped soon after his appointment and Ukpo supported that change, saying a coroner is usually an elected official 鈥� often also the county sheriff 鈥� but not a doctor.
鈥�’Coroner’ just kind of confused our purpose and suggested that we were within a law enforcement agency,鈥� Ukpo said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so important to establish our independence.鈥�
Andrew Bernstein, a longtime New York criminal defense attorney who is not involved in any of Ukpo鈥檚 cases, said 鈥渂uddy-buddy鈥� relationships can easily develop between medical examiners and law enforcement.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e dealing with the cops all the time,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e using the same language.鈥�
That relationship can hurt a prosecutor’s case, he said, because 鈥渏urors pick up on that all the time鈥� and may perceive a testifying medical examiner as biased.
But, Bernstein said, 鈥測ou don鈥檛 want so much independence鈥� that the medical examiner makes decisions regardless of the wants and needs of police and prosecutors.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want a rock star chief medical examiner,鈥� he said.
Dr. Michelle A. Jordan, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, told the AP in an email that the organization supports Ukpo鈥檚 鈥渄etermination to maintain his office鈥檚 independence from law enforcement” and the authority of forensic pathologists to 鈥減rovide transparent postmortem assessments and accurate death investigations鈥� that are 鈥渇ree from undue influence.鈥�
How he decided to make autopsies his life鈥檚 work
At age 6, Ukpo 鈥� who grew up in Anaheim not far from Disneyland 鈥� had wanted to be a homicide detective.
But when he met his family physician, he 鈥渢hought it was really cool how he would work with his hands, do dirty work, work with blood鈥� but 鈥渃ould be very professional in his office, in a suit, in a tie.鈥�
鈥淭here you go, that鈥檚 the formula for a forensic pathologist,鈥� he said.
Very few medical students want to make autopsies their life’s work. He said with a laugh that declaring his intentions 鈥渕ade for interesting medical school interviews.鈥�
His education included stints at Loyola University in Chicago, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and with the medical examiner in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Celebrity autopsies hold meaning beyond LA County
Ukpo performed autopsies on rapper , actor , and model and actor , the former longtime partner of .
Perry died within months of Ukpo getting the top job, and the primary cause of death was acute ketamine toxicity.
鈥淢atthew Perry was really an important one to notify people that ketamine is not harmless,鈥� he said.
He said this and all his work is driven by his desire to first and foremost serve the public.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 trying to shift during my leadership here is to try to focus on community first,鈥� he said. 鈥淒eath doesn鈥檛 just happen for the family, for the individual. When a death happens, it reverberates.鈥�
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