W. Mass. families frustrated at delayed autopsies

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - Some families in western Massachusetts say they're frustrated that autopsy reports on their loved ones' deaths are taking so long.

The Republican of Springfield reports some families have been waiting for more than a year for autopsy findings that will finally show why their relatives died.

The Holyoke medical examiner's office serves all four western counties. A bottleneck of autopsy reports has developed since one of the office's two medical examiners retired two years ago.

State records show the Holyoke office is sending more and more bodies to the busy Boston medical examiners' office - 369 last year compared with none in 2010.

State officials say there's no money to hire a second medical examiner in Holyoke, but they're discussing how to improve service in the region.

Cox Media Group