Office of the Coroner

Determines Cause and Manner of Death

The county coroner is elected at large to four-year terms and investigates the cause and manner of death when a person dies under certain situations.

The Coroner’s office is charged by Georgia Law to determine the Cause and Manner of Death by an extensive investigation which may include a post-mortem examination. This investigation is independent of the sheriff, police, fire departments and Medical Examiner, but is done in conjunction with those other entities. A post-mortem examination (autopsy) is ordered by the coroner only when it is vital in the determination of Cause and Manner of Death.

The Coroner’s office responds to calls 24 hours a day, seven-days a week to investigate and determine Cause and Manner of Death. The coroner investigates cases of homicide, suicide, accidental, undetermined and all sudden, unexpected or medically unattended natural deaths. Coroners may pronounce someone dead under certain conditions at the scene of death.

The coroner is required to investigate when a person dies:

As a result of violence
By suicide or casualty
Suddenly when in apparent good health
When unattended by a physician
In any suspicious or unusual manner, with particular attention to those persons 16 years of age and under.
After birth but before seven years of age if the death is unexpected or unexplained.
As a result of an execution carried out pursuant to the death penalty
When an inmate of a state hospital or a state, county, or city penal institution
After having been admitted to a hospital in an unconscious state and without regaining consciousness within 24 hours of admission.
Autopsies are mandatory in the death is a child under the age of 7 whose death is unexpected or unexplained. Georgia law requires each county in the state to appoint a committee to develop local protocols to prevent child abuse. These Cild Fatality Review Boards review unexpected or unexplained deaths of children under the age of 18, determine if any could have been prevented, and make recommendations to prevent future child deaths. The coroner serves on this committee.

All coroners are required to attend a 40-hour course at the Georgia State Patrol Training Center in Forsyth and receive 24 hours of in service training each year on various death investigation procedures.

The Coroner's Office is part of the judicial system and has the power of subpoena. The coroner's office may conduct court in the form of an inquest to help determine cause of death and the outcome may be used for criminal procedures. The coroner is often called upon as a witness in criminal court.

The coroner cannot perform autopsies, but can order them if a case meets the criteria set by the GBI State Medical Examiner's Office and when it is vital in the determination of cause and manner of death. When ordered by this office, a charge for the autopsy is never incurred by the family unless the GBI State Medical Examiner’s Office denies the request to perform an autopsy and the family requests a private autopsy. The family is then responsible for the cost of the examination. The coroner’s office can help facilitate that request by connecting the family with a private autopsy company.

Patty Hutcheson

Coroner Patty Hutcheson, a native of Haralson County, is a graduate of Bremen High School; holds an AA degree from Truett-McConnell College; an AS degree from Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service; and BA and MA degrees from the University of West Georgia. She and her husband, Danny, own and operate Hutcheson’s Memorial Chapel and Crematory, along with their daughter, Kathryn, and son-in-law, Chase Croft. For 26 years Patty was an instructor at Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service, and was later appointed president of the college. She is currently the Executive Director of the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice and is a member of the Higgins Hospital Authority Board.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Patty S. Hutcheson
Haralson County Coroner

P.O. Box 681
Buchanan Ga 30113
Phone: 770-301-5025
Fax: 770-646-9490
Cell Phone: 770-301-5025
Contact by Email

Samuel Chase Croft
Deputy Coroner

Cell Phone: 770-301-9942
Contact by Email

Joshua Worthy
Deputy Coroner

Phone: 678-372-6224
Contact by Email

C. Carlton Firestone
Deputy Coroner

Phone: 770-324-0085
Contact by Email