Aldo Fusaro, a deputy medical examiner from Montana who’s been serving as interim Whatcom County ME, is set to be named to the full-time position.
His appointment is set for December after the County Council voted unanimously Wednesday Nov. 6 to accept the confirmation.
The decision closes a chapter of months-long strife within the county medical examiner’s office after former ME Allison Hunt transitioned out of the office following investigation of improperly stored human remains in the late spring.
During the interview process, Fusaro met with Whatcom County Sheriff Donnell Tanksley, members of the Northwest Washington Medical Society and county stakeholders.
Council member Ben Elenbaas, who was involved in the interview process, said he found Fusaro kind and insightful.
“As he’s served as the interim medical examiner, the feedback I’ve gotten from the people that have worked with him… I’ll quote one: ‘It’s like a breath of fresh air,’” Elenbaas said.
With Fusaro’s appointment, he’ll help lead the transition of the office from an independent contracted entity into a county-run department. Garrett Jeffery, the president of the Northwest Washington Medical Society, said Fusaro would be growing into a leadership position, which the medical society can help facilitate by helping form relationships within the medical community.
The transition has been on pause because of events that transpired earlier in 2024 concerning the ME’s office.
Council members introduced an item Wednesday to create the Medical Examiner Department and discussion will be held at the next council meeting.
Over the summer, the medical examiner’s office was under intense scrutiny when it was discovered human remains in care of the office were left unrefrigerated at a local funeral home during a weekend in May. The office failed to report the extent of the decomposition of the remains to the funeral homes that were receiving them.
The ME’s office also failed to keep records of where one of the bodies was after its autopsy, an allegedly repeated occurrence that left many funeral homes frustrated on many occasions, according to the investigation report.
The funeral home where the remains were stored was serving as the temporary morgue space as the county morgue wa undergoing renovations.
The failure led to an independent inquiry into the conduct of the office during that weekend and as a result, the county and Hunt parted ways.
Fusaro started as the interim ME in early September. He’s been splitting his time between Washington and his duties as deputy medical examiner for the Montana State Medical Examiner’s Office.
Fusaro is a forensic pathologist with active medical licensure in Washington and Montana. Prior to serving in Montana, he worked as an associate medical examiner for King County from 2005 to 2017 and worked in the Office of the Cook County Medical Examiner in Illinois. He attended medical school at Des Moines University and also taught at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Rush Medical College.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
