The North Carolina Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has published a new set of reports, visit the OCME reports page to view the new reports.

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The North Carolina Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has published a new set of reports, visit the OCME reports page to view the new reports.
The NC OCME has issued their reports for July 2025. Visit the OCME Reports page to see updated reports.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) โ A motherโs been waiting almost a year for closure and answers. Kelley Blas is waiting for the official cause of her sonโs death.
On June 21, 2023, Blas lost her son John Steen to an accidental overdose.
โWe donโt know what exactly it was that took John, because we donโt have a toxicology report, we donโt have an autopsy, we donโt have a death certificate,โ Blas said.
Blas said she never thought sheโd be waiting upwards of 11 months to receive the documents.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said there are staffing troubles at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME.)
โNCDHHS has ongoing concerns about staff vacancies and high turnover at OCME, which have a negative impact on the systemโs ability to maintain high-quality services for North Carolinians,โ said NCDHHS.
Read more: Nearly a year later, a mother waits for closure in sonโs death as NC medical examinerโs office faces challengesBlas knows how much closure those reports could bring. She lost her older son David to an intentional overdose in 2017 after struggles with mental health. Four months after Davidโs death, Blas said she received the papers she once again is waiting for.
โI only could open it up just to read the cause of death, which I knew what it was, but I needed, I needed to see it,โ Blas said. โAnd once I saw it, I closed it and locked it up in a box and I havenโt really looked at it since then. But it just gave me a sense of just, okay, this part is done, I donโt have to think of my child being in a morgue.โ
DHHS said each case is different, so there is no typical time frame for completing reports.
Blas said the state medical examinerโs office told her Johnโs case is complete, but pending pathology review.
OCME has 15 permanent state positions that are vacant, equal to a 20% vacancy rate, according to NCDHHS. NCDHHS said that includes four vacant pathologist positions (out of 13.)
At the same time, the caseload is growing, with a 26% case increase from 2019 to 2023, according to NCDHHS. The department said it is undoubtedly influenced by a 69% rise in suspected overdose deaths.
โA backlog in OCME creates challenges for law enforcement, attorneys, our public health partners and for the families and communities left behind,โ said NCDHHS.
Blas emphasizes sheโs not the only one waiting for closure, hearing stories of similar or longer waits from other families who lost also lost children to overdoses.
โWhen you lose someone, that already causes suffering, and then when you have to compound that by extending these waits longer and longer, I just, Iโm not sure that others really understand what thatโs like,โ Blas said.
NCDHHS pointed to several recommendations in Governor Roy Cooperโs proposed budget, including:
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) โ More children in North Carolina are dying from fentanyl in recent years. The North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force took a closer look at those deaths and what could be done to prevent them during its meeting Thursday.
The N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Chief Toxicologist Sandra C. Bishop-Freeman shared the harrowing data with the task force.
โIt has become clear that fentanyl is the first and foremost opioid that is currently causing illicit deaths in the pediatric population,โ said Bishop-Freeman.
Bishop-Freeman said 108 North Carolina children died from fentanyl in the past decade, most of them are teenagers or are babies and toddlers.
โWe have older individuals that are using the drug recreationally, either knowingly or unknowingly, and toddlers and infants that are finding the drug through exploration,โ Bishop-Freeman said.
She said thereโs been a huge increase in the past few years, with 35 fentanyl deaths in 2022 for teenagers and children below 5.
Marty McCaffrey sits on the state committee that reviews child deaths.
โItโs always been the worst meeting and the most horrific meeting I go to every month, but over the last couple of years I will say, if itโs possible, itโs gotten even more horrible,โ McCaffrey said.
McCaffrey and others in the meeting said when it comes to solutions, safe storage is critical.
He suggests giving mothers who have known substance abuse issues secure boxes. He also suggests that after a mother gives birth hospitals should send her home with Narcan if doctors know the children in that home may be at risk for coming in contact with drugs.
โI mean, weโre going to have to accept, and really change our culture, about how we deal with some of these moms, all of these moms, with substance use, and recognize thereโs good harm reduction strategies we have to start employing,โ McCaffrey said.
Fentvic has recieved updated reports from the North Carolina Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). Latest reports can be found here on the Fentvic website.
There were 266 fentanyl-positive deaths in July 2023 compared to 251 in July 2022. Year to date, there is a 6% increase (2,045) compared to this time last year, January to July 2022 (1,926).
Data Source: NC OCME Toxicology data; NC OCME Toxicology is nationally accredited by the American Board of Forensic Toxicology, Inc. NC OCME Toxicology provides forensic analytical testing of specimens for all 100 counties of the statewide medical examiner system. Toxicology results are based on blood, vitreous fluid, or other specimens used for testing at the discretion of the pathologist and/or toxicologist. For additional information regarding these reports, please contact ocme.data.request@dhhs.nc.gov