Pennsylvania coroners learn new ways to solve cases in state seminar

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — Pennsylvania coroners flocked to Johnstown to kick off the PA Coroners Conference at Penn Highlands Community College on Friday.

80 participants from 19 counties across the state heard from speakers about different tips and experiences from their time out in the field. Mike Murphy, the CEO of MPower USA, an international management consulting firm providing management and leadership guidance to public and private agencies, shared different ways his team solved cold cases, using image canvassing, DNA samples and mental preparation when talking to families and religious groups in terms of exhumation.

“You’re always going to have those cases that your leads have exhausted, whether it be 10 years ago, 20 years ago or even a current case,” Cambria County chief deputy coroner Joseph Hribar said. “So learning new technologies and learning the new methods that are available to give more forensic science and leads to those cases are very important.”

Through the event, each office’s members have discussed cases they have worked on. This leads to others implementing tactics mentioned in each discussion and inspires new ways to do the job efficiently.

“We may be talking about our own cases we have back home. Insight and ideas may come from other folks,” Hribar added. “So sometimes, folks are going back home with ideas to add to their cases and potentially solve some of them.”

The conference has aided state coroners for 24 years.