The Whatcom County Council approved the appointment of an interim medical examiner Tuesday, Sept. 10.
The appointment of Aldo Fusaro, by a 7-0 vote, will be temporary as the county continues to search for a full-time medical examiner while the current ME, Allison Hunt, transitions out of her duties following allegations that triggered formal investigations.
Hunt’s formal removal and eventual termination of her company’s contract with the county comes five months after two human bodies were found to be improperly stored on behalf of the medical examiner’s office at a local funeral home. The funeral home was serving as the temporary morgue as the medical examiner’s office went through renovations. Hunt Forensics contracted with Whatcom County starting in 2022.
During the discussion of Fusaro’s appointment Tuesday, Fusaro said he was glad to have met some of the county officials when he visited Bellingham last week. He appeared before the council Tuesday via Zoom.
“I think that after righting the ship, we can steer it on a proper course,” he told county council members. “The raw materials are all there. We’ve got some staff, we’ll hire some more and we’ll get it going.”
Fusaro will split his time between Whatcom County and his duties as the deputy medical examiner for the Montana State Medical Examiner’s Office. When he is not in town, autopsies will be conducted by local pathologists.
Following allegations of bodies decomposing in May, the county hired an independent investigator to review what happened during the weekend in May. Kristofer Bundy, the investigator, concluded that the ME’s office knew the remains had been improperly stored over the weekend, and had failed to communicate the state of the remains with the funeral homes coming to transport 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 report.
Deborah Hollis, the ME’s office operations manager, has hired an independent investigator to review the Bundy report.
As per the county charter, Fusaro met with the Northwest Washington Medical Society and the Whatcom County Sheriff. Both approved of Fusaro’s candidacy.
The Medical Society did however express reservations about his limited availability between his job in Montana and covering ME needs in Whatcom County.
“There remains an opportunity to address the times Dr. Fusaro will not be available to our community,” Garrett Jeffery, the president of the medical society, wrote in a letter to County Executive Satpal Sidhu. “We trust he has the expertise to guide you in ensuring that cases are handled by equally qualified physicians.”
The county has received five applications for the medical examiner position, including Fusaro, who applied for the position full-time.
During Hunt’s tenure in the office, she advocated for her independent agency to become a part of the county. That move would ensure the office could get additional staffing, and also have a higher likelihood of receiving grant funding.
But the transition has been on pause since May as the county and Hunt have dealt with the fallout from the improperly stored bodies.
When the county announced Fusaro’s hiring, it also announced Louise Trapp, who has worked in the Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Health and Community Services, was placed on temporary assignment to assist with the operation of ME services. She will also assist with the transition and setting up of the office.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
