The first medical examiner’s office in Brazos County is expected to open this summer—a process County Judge Duane Peters said first started more than a decade ago.
The addition of a county medical examiner’s office means Brazos County will no longer need to rely on other counties for death investigations and autopsies, leading to quicker turnaround times for results and more educational opportunities for the community, county officials said.
In a nutshell
Peters said conversations regarding the need for a local medical examiner’s office began in 2012 among members of the Brazos Valley Council of Governments, an organization including governmental leaders from Brazos County and the six surrounding counties in the Brazos Valley. According to the BVCOG, the results of a feasibility study were released in 2015.
“It was really from that that we determined that there certainly could be a need and it would not only benefit Brazos County but the surrounding counties,” Peters said in an interview.
Brazos County broke ground on the facility in December 2024 along East 29th Street between Broadmoor and Briarcrest drives in Bryan, according to county information.
As a medical examiner’s office does not yet exist in the county, investigations of deaths occurring in Brazos County are outsourced to Travis County, often leading to a longer wait to receive results and additional costs from sending detectives to observe an autopsy, Peters said.
In the city of Bryan, Deputy City Manager Hugh Walker said death investigations are sent to medical examiners in San Antonio, Houston or Travis County, and a city detective travels to observe the examination.
“We would certainly have some cost savings in that our detective would not have to travel out of the county,” Walker said. “We would expect the results to come back to us much sooner.”
Some context
With the absence of a medical examiner, Peters said justices of the peace in Brazos County are tasked with inquest, the process of determining whether an autopsy is needed. The county judge is the second in line for the inquest, he said. Often, elected officials may not have experience investigating deaths.
“When you have a medical examiner, they have death investigators ... that’s what they’re trained to do. They can go out and do a much better job, in my opinion, when they’re investigating deaths than someone who may not have anywhere near that experience or maybe zero experience,” Peters said.
The creation of a medical examiner’s office in Brazos County means death investigations can happen locally, often being completed quicker—giving closure to loved ones—and investigated properly, said Dr. Jennifer Dierksen, Brazos County’s first director of forensic services.
Dierksen, who began her role with the county in February, is expected to be appointed by county commissioners to serve as the county’s first medical examiner once the new facility opens.
“By providing proper medicolegal investigation to a county, it is beneficial to both the legal system and to public health and providing a service to the county. We’ll have a better understanding of cases that otherwise wouldn’t have been autopsied that now we have a better idea of what people are dying of,” she said.
Dierksen said she estimates the county sent about 160 investigations to Travis County in 2024, a number she said could grow up to 300 investigations in a year with a Brazos County medical examiner.
“By keeping it within the county, I can do an autopsy and/or their identification, all the procedures that may need to be done for a case, and [a body] can potentially be released the same day,” Dierksen said. “Also, keeping the case localized, I’ll have more access to their medical records, to their doctors, and so by keeping a focused look here, I should be able to finish out cases here sooner than if they’re going to, say, Travis County.”
A quicker turnaround time means a death certificate is provided to the family sooner, which is necessary for closing out accounts and activating benefits, she said.
Marking a milestone
Peters said construction of the facility is paid for through federal American Rescue Plan Act funds the county received during COVID-19 and county reserve funds.
According to county information:
- The construction budget totals $35 million.
- The facility spans about 21,000 square feet.
- The building includes two autopsy suites, one observation deck for educational purposes and office space.
Commissioners approved salaries March 10 for two full-time medicolegal death investigator positions at $40.87 per hour as the county’s forensic services department develops.
Stay tuned
Dierksen said she hopes to provide forensic education opportunities for the local community with the debut of the medical examiner’s office. While formal partnerships are still being discussed with local universities and institutions, Dierksen said there is a need for more exposure to the forensics field, particularly for medical and law students and local law enforcement.
“This is a field that is ripe for folks to join because there’s becoming such a demand and there’s very few folks that have this expertise, so it’s an opportunity to introduce medical examiner, that sort of expertise, early on in the classroom,” Walker said.
The building includes a designated area for observation as well as a conference room where classes could be held.
“We’re brainstorming different ways right now where we can provide different community education as well, so there will be lots of educational benefits with the building,” Dierksen said.
