Cases of suicide and overdose deaths have both about doubled in 2018 compared to 2017 in Muskingum County, and the coroner is struggling to adjust.

Back-to-back suicide over the weekend left the coroner’s office with 32 suicide investigations this year as compared to 17 in 2017. Overdose deaths are currently sitting at 42 for Muskingum County this year, in contrast with 20 last year.

Muskingum County Coroner, Doctor Charles Feicht, met with the Muskingum County Commissioners to discuss budget deficits for the 2018 year and discuss preparations for 2019.

With a few last minute autopsies for 2018, the coroner’s office is experiencing a deficit in its budget making it difficult to finish out the year. Feicht accredits those unforeseen, extra autopsies to the nearly doubling amount of both suicides and overdose deaths.

“The suicide rate is up big time. Drug overdose is up, huge,” Feicht said while addressing the commissioners. “And the demands of law enforcement is up over what it used to be, so it’s just a different a reality. This is not just our reality, it’s everybody’s reality.”

While there have been more deaths due to those two causes this year, the number of autopsies performed is relatively similar to last year’s total.

An autopsy isn’t performed on everybody, Feicht said. There is a toxicological test that the coroner’s office does on a seemingly overdosed death body that is sent to a state-of-the-art lab in Pittsburgh. That test yields a report that includes all substance of abuse in the body.

“We don’t normally do autopsies on clear-cut, well for instance on suicides, unless there’s any question, any mystery or any law enforcement discomfort whatsoever,” Feicht said. “In which case, we’ll absolutely do an autopsy. In drug overdoses, if it’s clear, crystal clear, no drama, no mystery, no criminality and the police 100 percent agree with that, then we’ll do the toxicologic confirmation.”

To clarify that statement, Feicht said that the body will be held for three days in case any evidence develops from a case after the scene is initially searched.

All autopsies from Muskingum County are outsourced to Licking County, which Feicht said is the hub for autopsy performance for surrounding counties.

Each autopsy performed in Licking County costs approximately $1,108, according to an employee with the coroner’s office. She said that price is significantly cheaper than other countries, like Montgomery, which costs around $3,000.

“We save, we think, a lot of money because in some places, like in the big cities, they autopsy every overdose, right,” Feicht said. “So, they have huge budgets, but we don’t have that kind of budget. We don’t think it’s necessary to autopsy every clear-cut, obvious overdose.”

Although money is being saved in places that it can be, Feicht said that doesn’t take away from the larger numbers in suicide and overdose deaths.

During the meeting, Muskingum County Commissioner Jim Porter advised Feicht and his staff to revise and resubmit their budget as their 2019 budget was only $600 more than their 2018 budget request which left them in a deficit.

The coroner will meet with the commissioners again after the new year to further discuss the revised budget request.