Yesterday, the NYC Medical Examiner's Office announced that it had identified the 1,629th victim from the September 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center. Using a DNA sample, the ME's office confirmed remains belonged to Ernest James, a 40-year-old Harlem resident, had been an IT employee at Marsh & McClennan. more ›

Eight years after his 16-year-old son went missing, a Brooklyn dad discovered that thanks to a medical examiner's "mix-up," his son had been buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. The scandal began on June 27, 2003, when 16-year-old Cemal Cansev left his home on Brighton Beach to pick up his report card. He never returned, and father Sahil Cansev filed a missing persons report and began following dead end leads to his son's whereabouts. more ›

A grieving family saying good-bye to police officer who passed away last week got a rude awakening when the city decided to take his corpse during memorial services. Howard Wong told the Post that 10 minutes before his brother George's wake, "The Medical Examiner called us and said they need to reclaim the body. The Health Department had issues with the wording on the cause of death—that he died from exposure to 9/11 toxins—and they ordered the Medical Examiner's Office to do it over." more ›

In 2005, 17-year-old Jesse Shipley died in a car crash. His family buried him, but his brain was kept by the Medical Examiner and discovered in a jar two months later by his classmates on a school trip to the mortuary. Now the family has filed a suit against the ME and the city for interfering with their right to give their son a proper burial, and told the Post about having to bury their son twice, as their priest said the first burial was improper without all of Shipley's body parts. "It's bad enough having to bury your kid—it's even worse having to bury him twice, for the reason of someone else's negligence," said his father, Andre Shipley. more ›

This is really creepy, and extremely disturbing... but sadly, not that shocking. Mortuary technicians have been caught playing with the dead—and they even documented their deeds on Polaroid. According to the NY Post, the photos that have been released—allegedly by someone who was trying to blackmail the employees—were taken around 2004. more ›

Things aren't looking so good for the Medical Examiner's office. Back in 2002 a 27-year-old named Richard Massey disappeared in New York. According to the NY Post, the computer programmer had just moved here from England, reportedly started acting "bizarrely" and was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital. Allegedly, in prior weeks, he was scared someone was going to hurt him. He checked himself out of the hospital on December 19th, and was never seen again. more ›

Following his sudden death last month in his Lafayette Street apartment, the New York City Medical Examiner has finally determined why Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, died at the age of 36. more ›

The Westchester Medical Examiner's office has taken the preemptive measure of saying that the second round of test results on the body of Taconic crash driver Diane Schuler may vary from the original toxicology and autopsy findings. The original results revealed Schuler to have a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit as well as traces of marijuana in her system while driving in the crash that killed eight. A spokesman for the county's chief medical examiner said, "Due to the time period that has passed, the amount of alcohol that will show up in the samples when they are retested will be reduced and the marijuana can disappear." But Newsday talks to forensics experts who seem unclear on why such a statement was made, the toxicologists they speak to saying there's no reason the result would change much—if anything it could go up over time. The question now is whether such a defensive stance from the ME's office will only fuel the suggestions of a plot that have been hinted at by Daniel Schuler's lawyer, Dominic Barbara (pictured). But the examiner says they are simply encouraging the Schuler family quickly select a lab for the additional autopsy tests the Schulers have requested. more ›

Dr. Charles Hirsch, the chief medical examiner, told a City Council committee that proposed budget cuts will greatly impact his office's ability to handle its work—and to release bodies to Jewish and Muslim families quickly. He said, "Respecting the religious beliefs of the dead, and the families who interact with us on a daily basis, is very important. This budget reduction will greatly impact (our) ability to meet the needs of people of the Jewish and Islamic faiths in particular, religions which require the expeditious burial of remains." The Post says the city is cutting $7 million the ME's office budget, while the state is "threatening to withhold $18.4 million in reimbursements to the city office." more ›

Following Natasha Richardson's death last night, the NYC medical examiner's office performed an autopsy and announced the actress died from an "epidural hematoma due to blunt impact to the head." The NY Times looks at how a seemingly innocent spill on a bunny hill could have killed the actress, who walked back to her room joking about her fall on Monday, and turned away an ambulance that was originally sent for her by ski patrollers. Sadly, the Times talks to a doctor who assumes "The most likely injuries would have been treatable had they been detected promptly." While funeral arrangements are being made at the Greenwich Village Funeral Home, Playbill reports that "marquees of the Broadway theatres will be dimmed [tonight] at 8 PM for one minute." more ›

The city medical examiner ruled yesterday that the October death of 45-year-old Leon Heyward was caused by cancer he got from breathing in toxic dust at Ground Zero. He becomes the first addition to the official total since a Staten Island woman's death was linked to dust inhalation almost two years ago. Heyward worked as an investigator and helped get handicapped co-workers out at the Department of Consumer Affairs Office on Church Street after the planes hit. As the years went on, he began having seizures, became delusional and suffered memory loss. His sister told the News that the ruling is some vindication after Heyward had been denied worker's comp. She told the News, "There were a lot of people that weren't first responders. There are a lot of people walking around sick for the same reason and fighting the same battle we did." The medical examiner has declined to make similar rulings in half a dozen other cases. more ›

This week, The New Yorker will have a feature on the James Zadroga's cause of death. The death of Zadroga, an NYPD detective who spent hours working rescue-and-recovery at the WTC site after 9/11, was debated in public--his family and medical experts claimed his death was due to exposure to Ground Zero toxins while the city's medical examiner disputed that, "It is our unequivocal opinion, with certainty beyond doubt, that the foreign material in your son's lungs did not get there as the result of inhaling dust at the World Trade Center or elsewhere." more ›

The City Medical Examiner released the results of Esmin Green's autopsy; and King's County Hospital treatment, or lack thereof, of the dead woman may have had more to do with her death than callous neglect. The M.E. found that Green collapsed after blood clots that formed in her legs as she sat in the hospital's psychiatric ward waiting room migrated to her lungs and killed her. more ›

During his testimony for the defense, a former Suffolk County medical examiner said 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown was not killed by child abuse syndrome but by a single blow. In spite of her malnourished state and various injuries battering her body, Dr. Charles Wetli said, "If you take away the head injury from this child, there is no reason that the child should have died in that time and place." more ›

On Friday, a woman traveling from Haiti to New York City died on the American Airlines flight. Her cousin say the crew initially refused to give her oxygen and that when they did, the oxygen tanks were empty and the defibrillator wasn't working. more ›

After the discovery of a woman's body on the lawn of the United Nations building, the police have identified the woman as Maria DiBiase, who worked with the Austrian consulate. According to the Daily News, DiBiase "apparently jumped after showing up for work at the UN early Sunday." more ›

Miguel Matias called 911 yesterday morning to confess to police that he had strangled his daughter. He lied, however, about where he placed her body. The 34-year-old building superintendent told cops that he killed the 14-year-old girl because she wouldn't stop texting or instant messaging a boy, and that he then dumped her body in the woods. When police searched the Bronx building where he worked, however, they found the partially burned body of a girl shoved into the building's basement boiler. more ›

A city medical examiner spent two days testifying in the trial of Cesar Rodriguez, who face murder charges over his 7-year-old stepdaughter Nixzmary Brown's death. Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson revealed two things: That the girl only gained one pound in two and a half years and that she was dead for seven hours before 911 was called. more ›

Just a little over two weeks after his death, and as his family prepares to bury him, the NYC medical examiner has given the results of Heath Ledger's toxicology report. more ›

The NYC Medical Examiner's office says Heath Ledger's autopsy is inconclusive, citing the need to more tests. Spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said, "The autopsy is inconclusive and we have to do further testing which includes toxicology and tissue testing. We expect to have results in about 10 days to two weeks." more ›

Early this morning, a city medical examiner's van crashed into a Nissan Altima on Fort Hamilton Parkway, leaving the Altima's driver and front passenger dead and at least five others injured. Around 3:30AM, van was headed south on the parkway when it was "struck by the Altima, traveling east on 44th Street." more ›

The police are investigating the murder of a 69-year-old woman in her apartment at 2400 Second Avenue. Helen Abbot's body was found by her daughter on Sunday afternoon, after she hadn't been heard from in two days. A medical examiner determined that she was strangled, stabbed and beaten to death. more ›

The family and friend of the Minnesota tourist who took a fatal plunge from a Midtown hotel this past weekend are saying her death is not a suicide. Twenty-one-year-old Jennifer Olson fell 60 feet from a fire escape at the Night Hotel and earlier reports suggested she jumped, but her friend, Timothy O'Neill, told the Daily News, "I don't believe it was suicide. I believe it was accidental. After drinking six or seven hours, people aren't thinking clearly." more ›

Brooklyn resident Christina Copeman became a recluse after the death of her husband 17 years ago, more so as she began to succumb to Alzheimer's disease. She wouldn't answer greetings from neighbors and eventually refused to come to the door when people knocked. The full consequences of her isolation weren't realized until this week, when police broke down the door to her apartment and found her skeletal remains dressed, and wearing a coat and hat... more ›

First responders gathered in front of the NYC Medical Examiner's office to protest how the ME has classified deaths seemingly related to Ground Zero illnesses. State Senator Eric Adams said he would introduce legislation making sure first responders who worked at Ground Zero will "get the same line-of-duty benefits" as September 11 victims. Recently, the ME's office has not named two rescuers, who worked at the World Trade Center site after September 11 and later... more ›

Dr. Charles S. Hirsch is the chief medical examiner of New York City and has overseen the autopsies on more than 100,000 people. He would probably remain a mystery to most New Yorkers, if it weren't for his ruling on the death of Det. James Zadroga, who worked clean-up at Ground Zero after September 11, 2001. Hirsch said that Zadroga's death wasn't related to Ground Zero dust, but ground-up pills the detective was allegedly injecting.... more ›

The Maricopa County medical examiner found that the death of a New Yorker in police custody at the Phoenix airport was an accident. Carol Gotbaum, who was flying from NYC to Tucson with a stopover in Phoenix, died of "asphyxia by hanging" on September 28. Gotbaum, stepdaughter-in-law of Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, had been traveling alone to check into alcohol rehabilitation. When she missed her connection to Tucson, she became upset and disruptive, and... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: electric shock on Van Brunt St. in Brooklyn, a bank robbery on Francis Lewis Blvd. in Queens, and a shooting at 185th St. and Tiebout in the Bronx.
• Anyone can sound more credible with a fake NYC address.
• Mayor Bloomberg reportedly met with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
• A British court ordered that one rich brother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, hand over ownership of the New York Palace Hotel to his older rich brother, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
• Gov. Spitzer's immigrant license plan may prove moot, as illegal aliens are leaving town due to the faltering local economy.
• A subway motorman was injured at Grand Central Terminal when shoved from behind onto the tracks at 42nd St.
• Bernard Kerik said that his current legal troubles regarding accepting illegal bribes from a mobbed-up company are the most difficult time for him since the events of the 9/11 attacks. And we're sure all the family members of those who lost loved ones on that day are overflowing with sympathy for him.
• A medical examiner determined that Carol Anne Gotbaum died accidentally while under a potent mix of alcohol and antidepressants.

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg met with Joseph Zadroga, whose son James was a NYPD detective and worked hours of rescue and recovery after the 2001 World Trade Center attacks. James Zadroga's death has been controversial, as the NYC medical examiner's office ruled that his death was not due to exposure to toxic WTC dust but prescription drug abuse, findings that contradicted the expert opinion of two other doctors. Bloomberg entered the fray when he said that... more ›

The medical examiner's office said the autopsy of top long distance runner Ryan Shay is inconclusive. Shay collapsed during the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday in Central Park and died shortly after. The ME's office said, "We want to take a closer look at the heart tissue," and will probably come to a conclusion in a week. His father had revealed his son was diagnosed with an enlarged heart at age 14, and Joe... more ›