MADISON COUNTY, Ind. — One Hoosier family is speaking out about their frustrations with the Madison County Coroner’s Office.
FOX59/CBS4 reported last week about the health and safety violations at the coroner’s office in Anderson. Now, we are learning more about major delays in the process of identifying loved ones.
“I am not having peace. I am not getting closure,” said county resident Carmaletta Frye. “It’s all going in a circle and I am not getting anywhere.”
Frye lost her brother, Michael Coubert, just a few weeks ago. She said she has been waiting for him to be positively identified and doesn’t think it will happen anytime soon.
“I want answers,” she said. “I want peace. I want to be able to go on with my life to where I don’t have to keep dealing with this.”
The Fryes are not the only family frustrated over these delays. The Madison County Commissioner’s Office said they’ve received multiple complaints from people across the county.
“We have been receiving complaints off and on for almost a year,” Madison County Administrator Tom Ecker said.
The coroner’s office has six health and safety violations it currently faces, including corpses in various states of decomposition.
“It makes me sad,” Frye said. “It makes me sick to my stomach because nobody should have to go through their family or their loved one being treated like this. Nobody.”
The Madison County Commissioner’s Office said they have resolved $22,500 worth of violations on behalf of the coroner.
However, there are still many unanswered questions as to why families like the Fryes are waiting so long for identification.
“The fact is I can’t even bury my brother beside his identical twin brother,” she said. “I can’t do it yet.”
FOX59 reached out to Dr. Troy Abbott, the Madison County coroner, but did not hear back.
One deputy coroner who spoke with us said there have been more deaths, which may be leading to delays in the official identification process. And in this particular case, DNA testing has to be used which delays the process even further.
