Don't Die Here
Nebraska, under a law dating back to 1917, is the only state that requires county attorneys to serve as coroners, even if they have no medical training. A few coroners bring along a doctor, but others do little more than call a mortician. This haphazard system is bound to fail, and in an excellent series called "Fatal Flaws," Karyn Spencer of the Omaha World-Herald examines 15 botched cases. Here's one:
If Jeanne Feyerherm Kassebaum's death had been treated as a homicide, authorities would have sealed off her home, left her body untouched and questioned family and friends.
Instead, emergency workers draped a blanket over her nude body, potentially ruining evidence.
Her estranged husband - a role that typically tops the suspect list - was allowed to spend the weekend at the house.
He and his relatives even cleaned.
Then an autopsy showed that Kassebaum had been strangled.
Cuming County authorities scrambled to salvage the investigation. But eight years later, no one has been arrested.
The series' home page is clean, informative and has lots of useful links.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10263668