Washington coroner accused of taking drugs from corpses

Carlos Fuentes / oregonlive.com (TNS)

The coroner in Yakima County, Washington, is facing multiple felony charges after he claimed he was poisoned with drugs and then admitted he snorted illegal substances taken from bodies, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported on Wednesday.

Yakima police are accusing Jim Curtice of evidence tampering, making false statements and official misconduct, according to the Herald-Republic. Curtice did not respond to a request for comment from The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday.

On August 26, Curtice called Yakima police and claimed he felt unwell after drinking an energy drink. According to a police report obtained by the Herald-Republic, he said he suspected someone had tampered with the drink by adding drugs.

On Sept. 12, Yakima police officers administered a polygraph to Curtice, which revealed evidence of deception, according to the police report.

When presented with the results of the lie detector test, Curtice initially denied any illegal drug use before admitting to using drugs three times a week for several months, the Herald-Republic reported. Curtice told investigators he took the drugs while working on corpses.

Yakima police have forwarded the case to the Ellensburg District Attorney's Office for possible charges, the Herald-Republic reported. Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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