MAHONING COUNTY Forensic pathologist agrees to take position here, allowing work to be done locally

The county has been without a forensic pathologist since July 2002.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Starting Monday, bodies from Mahoning County no longer will be routinely shipped to Akron or Cleveland for autopsies.
Dr. Robert Belding of Columbus is set to begin work Monday as the county's new forensic pathologist, said Coroner David Kennedy.
Belding replaces Dr. Jesse C. Giles, who left in July 2002 to take a similar job in Florida. He will be paid $110,000 for a one-year contract, Kennedy said. He said Belding will relocate here from Columbus shortly.
Since Giles' departure, the county has had to pay other counties to perform autopsies and forensic testing in homicides and suspicious-death cases. Bodies were first sent to Cleveland, but that city stopped accepting them because it could not handle the additional work.
The county then started sending bodies to Akron and Columbus, which creates longer lag times in getting results of autopsies and forensic tests.
'Break-even situation'
Financially, Kennedy said having a local forensic pathologist on staff again will be a "break-even situation." The advantage, he said, will be in having the work done locally so bodies can be transported to a funeral home for burial.
"I think this will be a huge relief for the families of these victims," Kennedy said.
Prosecutor Paul Gains said having a forensics expert available locally will enable law enforcement agencies to speed up their investigations into homicides and suspicious deaths.
Kennedy thought he had filled the position in April, but the candidate he'd chosen changed his mind at the last minute and decided against accepting the job.
He said Belding has signed a contract and agreed to take the job for at least one year.
He said Belding has been working in Columbus for about two years and has handled some of Mahoning County's cases, which is how he found out about the opening here.
bjackson@vindy.com