No fallout seen for examiner office

The King County Medical Examiner's Office is confident no investigations were compromised by an investigator who is facing charges of stealing drugs from the dead.

Thomas Chapin was a veteran ME's death investigator whose job included collecting bodies of the deceased and drugs at death scenes that could help a pathologist determine how and why someone died.

Chapin has been charged with stealing narcotics, including oxycodone and methamphetamines, and has been charged with possession of the drugs in King County District Court. Investigators say they believe the thefts began shortly after Chapin was hired in November 2002 and continued undiscovered for about five years.

James Apa, spokesman for Seattle and King County Public Health, which oversees the medical examiner's office, did not know how many cases Chapin has been involved with but said the office conducted 2,119 investigations in 2006. Chapin has been with the office for nearly six years and there are 11 other death investigators.

The Medical Examiner's Office does not plan on reviewing any cases Chapin worked on, Apa said. Chapin is cooperating with investigators "and he gave no indication that what he did would have jeopardized any investigation," Apa said.

"If we felt that it had, then we would be looking into it," he added.

Medication collected as evidence plays a limited role in determining a cause of death, Apa said.

When drugs are collected and brought to the Medical Examiner's Office, it serves more to guide pathologists during an autopsy, said Donald Reay, retired King County chief medical examiner.

"It's nice to know what medications were present at the scene, but in terms of drawing a conclusion, it depends on an autopsy," which is performed by a forensic pathologist, Reay said.

Often a pathologist will verify that drugs found at a scene are what were brought in as evidence. Because of this, the number of medications stored as proof is less significant than ensuring the correct drug was collected.

This is probably one reason Chapin's alleged thefts went undiscovered for so long, said Gareth Johnson, manager of the prevention division for Seattle and King County public health. Chapin was smart enough to leave some pills when he allegedly stole, Johnson said.

There was one alleged instance where Chapin did steal all of a medication collected as evidence. Apa could not provide specifics, but Johnson guessed Chapin took them after an autopsy, when a pathologist would have checked drugs collected as evidence.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office is working on terminating Chapin's employment. His arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 18.

Sean Rose: 206-464-2292 or srose@seattletimes.com