COLONIAL BEACH, Va. — Maryland is so overwhelmed with deaths due to crime, overdoses and COVID that bodies are now being stored in refrigerated trucks before they can be autopsied by the understaffed medical examiner's office, according to state records. Individual cases could take weeks or months to resolve.
Delores Shannon of Colonial Beach, Virginia said her daughter's body is part of the backlog of cases.
Angel Brand was a 28-year-old mother of two when she was swept up in the epidemic of opioid abuse and died of a suspected Fentanyl overdose on Feb. 11, according to Shannon, who says she still has not seen her daughter’s body.
“The agony of knowing she's somewhere over there and I can't have my daughter here, it breaks my heart because I just want to put her to rest so I can try to cope with what I'm going through," Shannon said through tears. "This is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my entire life. Our family is just destroyed. And the longer we have to wait together here, it makes it so much harder on us."
At least 200 bodies are waiting to be autopsied, according to state health authorities, with no estimate when the backlog will be cleared.
At one point during the crisis, whistleblowing workers claimed bodies were sitting unrefrigerated in hallways, according to Del. Kirill Reznik (D- Montgomery County), who is tasked with oversight. Currently, bodies are being stored in refrigerated trucks in a rented Baltimore Garage, state records show.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Victor Weedn abruptly resigned Friday. The state asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help. Five federal mortuary specialists have been sent in, according to Maryland’s Health Department.
Even so, Shannon said authorities in Maryland still cannot tell her when her daughter's body might come home to Virginia.
"I need to see my daughter to have closure," Shannon said. "I need to look at her one last time. And if I don't get to do that, because what happens there, I'll never forgive myself. I have no control."
State health authorities say new leadership at the medical examiner's office will address the backlog and a staff shortage.
"The Maryland Post Mortem Examiners Commission (PMEC) announced just this past Friday that Dr. Pamela Southall will serve as the state’s new interim chief medical examiner," Maryland Department of Health Spokesman Andy Owen wrote in an email to WUSA9. "In her new role, Dr. Southall will lead the office's efforts to review caseloads and continue the work begun by MDH to recruit forensic pathologists and secure additional resources for the office."
MDH has budgeted an additional 21 positions to the office of the chief medical examiner (OCME), according to Owen. MDH and the PMEC have secured funding to upgrade the OCME’s facilities, increase cold storage capacity, and purchase new equipment, Owen added.
However, Owen warned that some families may continue to wait.
"Please understand that a wait of several weeks or even months to get a determination of the cause and manner of death is not uncommon when taking into account all the steps required to make an informed and accurate diagnosis," Owen said. "This may be the case regardless of pending caseload or current staff levels."