The Interim District One Medical Examiner, Dr. Deanna Olekse, has been battling with the county commissions of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties over a new facility. In April, letters from several funeral homes about the ME’s office surfaced, and Dr. Oleskse has denied the allegations, calling them “unsubstantiated.”
“Butchered”
I received this email, via public record request, that was sent to Commissioner Robert Bender that describes the condition of a body handled by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
I redacted the names:
Commissioners, my name is XXX. My husband, XXX, passed away on January 14, 2023. Upon his death, he was transported to the Escambia County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. I was working with Trahan funeral homes for planning my husband’s final resting place.
Per my husband’s request, I planned and had a viewed cremation. My husband was transferred from the medical examiner’s office to the cremation facility. Upon my arrival, I had the opportunity to say one last goodbye to my husband.
This was a mistake, not because of the situation, but because of my husband’s body condition.
My husband was butchered. He was cut down all of his limbs to the bone or past. His chest was wide open and a normal “Y” incision did not appear to have been used. His head was cut on the back side from ear to ear and his scalp was still pulled over his face.
The medical examiner’s office did not show my loved one any respect or dignity while performing his autopsy, nor did they show any respect to his body after it was completed.
I have attended countless autopsies while I was a State Trooper in Orlando, Florida. To say goodbye to my husband I had to push the skin off his face and back onto the back of his head so I could even tell it was him.
The medical examiner’s office butchered my husband and stole from me the last image of my husband.
I beg that the County Commissioners step in and fix the issues with the medical examiner’s office that are being brought to light so other families don’t go through what I did. So the deceased can move from this life to the next with respect and dignity.
Please contact with any questions you might have.
Defamation Charge
Dr. Deanna Oleske, the interim medical examiner, last Thursday, notified the District One Medical Examiner’s Office Board that she is suing several Escambia funeral homes for defamation for letters made public last April.
- She wrote: “These letters have and will continue to harm my career as a forensic pathologist and expert witness, as well as my professional reputation.”
Oleske concedes that the bar for defamation of a public official is higher than the average citizen, but asserts the letters crossed the line.
- She said the unanimous opinion of medical examiners and forensic pathologists “in Florida and across the country” is the letters “caused my career significant harm and that I need to defend myself.”
“This was a personal attack, therefore, is a personal issue and not a DOMES issue.”