MAHONING COUNTY Autopsy reports trickle in

Officials aren't sure what recourse they have if the reports don't get done.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Eight down, 75 to go.
That's the progress that's been made on a pile of autopsy reports that were left undone when Mahoning County's forensic pathologist left two years ago for a new job in Florida.
County officials aren't pleased with the pace of Dr. Jesse C. Giles in getting caught up but aren't sure there is much they can do about it.
"I thought withholding his money was the best idea, but I got in trouble for that," Coroner David Kennedy said. "I don't know what else to do."
Assistant Prosecutor Jay Macejko said the pace of two reports per month is too slow.
"We need him to be moving on these," Macejko said.
Dr. Giles, who lives and works in Jacksonville, Fla., could not be reached to comment.
Background
Dr. Giles had been the county's forensic pathologist for seven years before he resigned in June 2002. He performed nearly all the autopsies for the coroner's office and often was called to testify in murder trials.
Shortly before Dr. Giles left, Dr. Kennedy discovered that there were 83 reports that had not been completed for autopsies done between 1996 and 2002. The actual autopsies are done, but Dr. Giles has not reduced his findings to a final written report.
In an attempt to force Dr. Giles to finish the reports, Dr. Kennedy withheld payment of $9,099.53 that Dr. Giles was owed for unused vacation time he'd accrued while working for the county. Dr. Giles, though, refused to do the work until he got paid.
The issue came to light earlier this year when prosecutors discovered that one of the unfinished autopsy reports was for the victim in a capital murder case. They needed to provide the report to the defense team in the case as part of required pretrial discovery.
When the lawyers asked Dr. Kennedy to provide the report, he told them he couldn't because he didn't have it. That's when the backlog of unfinished autopsy reports was discovered.
Court intervention
Judge James C. Evans ended the standoff by ordering Dr. Kennedy to hand over Dr. Giles' check, and by ordering Dr. Giles to immediately complete the autopsy report for the capital murder case, both of which happened.
Macejko said Dr. Giles told him in February that he would have the rest of the reports finished within six to eight months. It's been four months, and eight reports have been submitted, Dr. Kennedy said.
"They're coming in slow, but they're coming," Dr. Kennedy said.
Dr. Kennedy said any time he has called Dr. Giles and asked that a specific report be finished, Dr. Giles has complied.
Macejko said there is nothing on paper requiring Dr. Giles to finish the reports within a certain time period. Without that, there is little the county can do to force him to work faster.
He said it's possible that the county could sue Dr. Giles civilly for breach of contract if the work isn't finished soon, but Dr. Kennedy said that would be a last resort.
"Obviously I would have liked to have them before he left, but as long as we're getting them, I'm not overly concerned," Dr. Kennedy said.
Macejko said he intends to contact Dr. Giles and encourage him to make faster progress on the reports.
In the meantime, Dr. Kennedy said he's keeping closer tabs on autopsy reports being done now by the county's new forensic pathologist, Dr. Robert Belding, who was hired last year.
"We go over that on a weekly basis now," Dr. Kennedy said. "Nothing is more than 60 days old. It's beautiful."