Philly’s departing medical examiner Constance DiAngelo vowed to reform the office. Here’s what she accomplished.

Philadelphia’s Chief Medical Examiner Constance DiAngelo announced her resignation Dec. 14, departing from the office that oversees death investigations after just over a year.

DiAngelo was hired in 2022 in the wake of scandal: The revelation that the office had kept for decades the remains of victims from the 1985 bombing of the Black liberation and activist group MOVE. The remains languished for more than three decades before their discovery in a cardboard box on a shelf in a storage room.

An independent report subsequently outlined serious missteps made by the medical examiner’s office in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. It also found that systemic issues still plagued the office. DiAngelo had vowed to revamp the office, saying in October 2022 that she would “never do the things that happened 35 years ago.”

Here we look at key changes recommended in the city-commissioned report, prepared by the law firm Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhodes LLP, and what was accomplished during DiAngelo’s short tenure. City officials declined to comment on why DiAngelo resigned.

Reclassifying the manner of death for MOVE victims: The report found that all of the deaths of the MOVE bombing victims had been classified as “accidents.” The decision was widely criticized, given how 11 people, including five children, were killed after police dropped explosives on their fortified house in West Philly during a standoff. Authorities then let the subsequent fire burn. The bombing and ensuing blaze also destroyed dozens of homes in the neighborhood.

The report’s authors recommended reclassifying the bombing victims’ deaths as homicides, because the acts that led to their deaths were all intentional and “aimed at the occupants of the house.” The office has since done so, said James Garrow, a spokesperson for the city health department, which oversees the medical examiner’s office.

Searching for a “reform-minded” leader: The report authors urged “reform-minded” new leadership at the department, saying the office should hire someone with “character and courage” who could “remain impartial” and “stand up to political pressure.” Garrow said the department has adopted this hiring policy and that those characteristics will be priorities as the office searches for a new medical examiner.

Improving recordkeeping: The office has also developed a computerized tracking system to keep better records, Garrow said, in order to avoid confusion around the chain of custody of remains as happened in the MOVE case.

Prioritizing homicide investigations: The office has new funding to hire staff for more on-the-scene investigations in homicide cases. The report found that other cities send medical examiner office investigators to the scene of every homicide. This helps to keep cause-of-death investigations separate from law enforcement. Philadelphia office has not done so in recent years because of insufficient staffing, the report found.

Improving communication with families: The office had no formal policies on how to communicate with families during death investigations, and the report recommended developing standards on “what information should be shared with family members, when it should be shared, and general principles that should govern the interactions.”

Earlier this month, the mother of a deceased 16-year-old girl sued the office for allegedly cremating the girl’s remains without telling her family. The office has declined to comment on this case, but Garrow said the office is in the process of developing a policy around communicating with families.

Handling remains kept for investigation: The report recommended that the office should be “transparent” with family members when it keeps or disposes of bones and other tissue specimens during death investigations — an issue at the center of the controversy over the office’s handling of the MOVE remains.

Medical examiner office staff are meeting with funeral directors from various religious traditions to learn how to speak sensitively with families about their loved ones’ remains, and whether the office will keep human specimens, Garrow said. Until the policies are formalized, the office will not destroy remains retained at the office for ongoing investigations.

Further trainings for staff: Garrow said the office is also working to provide its employees with cultural diversity and sensitivity trainings.

Pursuing accreditation for the office: Philadelphia is the only one of the country’s 10 largest cities without an accredited medical examiner’s office. When she was hired, DiAngelo said she planned to stay in Philadelphia at least for the three to five years that it takes to get recognized for meeting professional standards asset by a national oversight group like the National Association of Medical Examiners. Garrow said the process is ongoing.

Preparing for mass fatality incidents: The report recommended that the office update its plan for responding to mass fatality incidents and hold trainings to ensure staff are familiar with the plan. That hasn’t happened yet, Garrow said, without saying why.