Officials Gauge Evidence Affected When Coroner's Office Fridge Units Turned Off

By Amie Schaenzer

The Kane County Coroner’s Office is working to compile a list of evidence affected last month when refrigerators containing blood and organ samples tied to criminal cases dating back to 2001 were turned off, the Naperville Sun reports.

It’s unclear at this point how many cases would be affected by the mishap. Dr. Ben Margolis, of Autopsy Center of Chicago, a medical pathologist, told the Naperville Sun the coroner’s office will need ”to go case-by-case or lab test by lab test to interpret it.”

“There may be no effect, it really depends on what they are looking for,” Margolis told the Naperville Sun.

The fridges, which contained thousands of samples of blood and body tissues, at the coroner’s office in Geneva were switched off last month by cleaning crews conducting mold remediation work, the Kane County Chronicle reports.

A list currently being compiled by the coroner’s office will be given to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office and to the court and defense counsel on any pending cases that will be affected, according to the newspaper report.

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