Riverside Coroner Press Release (2024)

FAQs

How do I find out if someone died in Riverside County? ›

The Office of Vital Records in the Public Health department registers all births and deaths within the County of Riverside. Riverside County certificates of births or deaths that occurred this year and last year only can be ordered from Riverside University Health System-Public Health.

The California Public Records Act (PRA), Government Code Sections 6250 to 6270, requires the Humboldt County Coroner's Office to make public records available for inspection by the public and to provide copies upon request.

Although the Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office does not release decedents on Saturdays, Sundays, or designated holidays, we typically complete our investigation and release the decedent to the designated funeral home or cremation service within 48 hours.

Requests for public record information about a decedent (Coroner's Packet) should be made in writing to the Coroner's Office. Send a letter that includes the following: Decedent's name, date of death and Coroner's file number (if known). Include the address where the reports are to be mailed.

There are several ways to do this: A General Search: To start a general inquiry, collect any identifying information about the person you believe to have passed. Type into a search engine the person's name followed by the word “death” or “obituary”.

The California Department of Public Health – Vital Records (CDPH-VR) maintains a permanent, public record of every death that has occurred in California since July 1905.

The Coroner is required by state law (Government Code Section 27491) to investigate all unnatural deaths or deaths where the attending Medical Doctor is unable to state a reasonable cause of death as well as cases where the deceased has not been seen by a doctor for 20 days prior to death.

There is no charge to the family for an autopsy that is required by the State of California. The cost is absorbed through the operation of the Medical Examiner Office and funded through tax dollars. In the event of a family-requested autopsy, a fee will be charged.

There are four general stages of putrefaction: Putrefaction (4-10 days after death) – Autolysis occurs and gases (odor) and discoloration starts. Black putrefaction (10-20 days after death) – exposed skin turns black, bloating collapses and fluids are released from the body.

The effects of a death on public health usually take several days to manifest. In the absence of embalming within 24 hours, it is not advised to embalm the body immediately. A morgue can preserve a body for one week at most. About a week passes before embalmed bodies decompose.

What happens to unclaimed bodies in Riverside County? ›

Long term unidentified decedents are referred to the Public Administrator's Bureau of the Sheriff's Office for disposition of their remains. Remains of unidentified decedents are buried at a contracted cemetery only after all means to identify the decedent have been explored.

All reports generated by the medical examiner (Medical Examiner's Report, Autopsy Report, and Toxicology Report) are available to the legal next of kin upon written request using the OCME Record Request Form for Legal Next of Kin on the record request page.

Autopsy reports can take up to 3 to 6 months for completion, and unless restricted by policy (see Public records Act Request policy below), a copy may be obtained from the Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office upon request. Autopsy reports on homicides are not available until the case is adjudicated.

Local newspapers, obituary pages, and social media can help you determine whether someone recently died. States and the U.S. government have online death records (sometimes called death indexes) for deaths within the past 50 years or so. To find out if you're in someone's will, you may want to visit a probate court.

Two state-level California Death Indexes can be found at Ancestry.com (a database anyone can access from any library branch and Central Library) or FamilySearch.org (a free internet database).

Step 1: Begin your obituary search by entering the person's name, the “obituary,” and “California” into your favorite search engine. Step 2: Search social media. Step 3: Search local funeral homes and newspapers.