Officials broke ground Friday on a new regional medical examiner’s office in Highland Heights.
It’s expected to be open in 2028, ten years after the previous facility shut down over staffing issues. Until it's built, autopsies will have to be completed over an hour away.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear helped secure $21 million in state funding for the project.
"Since before I took office, the Northern Kentucky region had been without a medical examiner's office. This has placed an unnecessary burden on medical examiner's offices across our state, as well as law enforcement, funeral homes, and most importantly, families of victims," Beshear says. "
The former Highland Heights Civic Center is being renovated for the new examiner's office; Kentucky State Police will also relocate its crime lab from nearby Cold Spring.
"When it's complete, the Kentucky State Police will have a new state-of-the-art crime lab to test evidence and support state and local criminal investigations," Beshear says. "This new space is going to allow for expanded operations and easier access to local law enforcement. It'll increase support for investigations and bring justice for victims, not just in this area, but for all 120 of our counties."
The property is owned by Northern Kentucky University. President Cady Short-Thompson says NKU acquired the building in an "imaginative deal" with the city of Highland Heights several years ago.
"With a local office right here, families and victims will get answers more quickly and efficiently than ever before," Short-Thompson says. "The addition of a crime lab and the medical examiner's office on campus will also bring great benefit to our students and faculty, offering unique multidisciplinary research opportunities and internship opportunities, as well as experiential learning across so many different majors and programs."
The office is expected to open in early 2028 and is projected to perform about 500 annual death investigations.
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