BALTIMORE — A backlog of bodies that need to be autopsied has the medical examiner using a garage in Baltimore for overflow storage.
A Montgomery County Democrat, Delegate Kirill Reznik, told WUSA bodies are being stored in refrigerated truck trailers at a loading dock as well as a Baltimore garage because of not only deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because of a spike in murders and overdoses.
Documents obtained by WUSA show the garage is being rented for $30,000 a month, and staff saw mortuary vehicles coming and going from the building Monday.
Last month, WBAL talked to funeral directors, who said delays had been growing worse over the last several weeks due to not only an increased number of cases, but also a shortage of staff. Baltimore had more than 300 homicides in 2021, along with 15% more overdose deaths and 5,859 blamed on COVID-19 in 2021, WBAL reported.
The caseload in Maryland has increased nearly 400 percent, The Washington Post reported. In late December, there were 50 bodies waiting for autopsies, while the Post found there were 240 last week. Chief Medical Examiner Victor Weedn told the Post he expects the backlog to hit 300 this month.
U.S. Health and Human Services told The Washington Post a team of five fatality management experts would be sent this week to help provide support to the medical examiner.
“Until a few weeks ago, there were bodies being piled up in the hallways, Reznik told WUSA. “It’s sad. Not only are we delaying potential criminal investigations, not only are we delaying the ability of families to have closure for their loved ones who have passed, there are circumstances where there are religious rights in many cases. And here we are delaying those people to properly bury their loved ones by days and weeks.”
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