Northern Kentucky is one step closer to having a medical examiner’s office again after state and local officials broke ground Friday on a new facility.
Construction at the former Highland Heights city building on Harriet Avenue is expected to begin within the next three to four weeks and be completed in early 2028, according to Mary Paula Schuh, NKU’s senior director for planning, design and construction. The new facility will also house the region’s Kentucky State Police crime lab.
The Northern Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office will bring autopsy services back to the region for the first time since the previous office closed in 2017, largely because of staffing issues.
The project includes an approximately 8,000-square-foot addition to the existing building and replacement of its mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Schuh told LINK nky that the extent of the work, along with long lead times for equipment, accounts for the construction timeline.
The project will restore a service Northern Kentucky has gone without for nearly a decade while also giving the Kentucky State Police Northern Regional Crime Lab more room to operate.
“Since before I took office, the Northern Kentucky region had been without a medical examiner’s office,” Gov. Andy Beshear said at the groundbreaking. “This has placed an unnecessary burden on medical examiners’ offices across our state, as well as law enforcement, funeral homes, and most importantly, families of victims.”
The state secured $21 million in 2024 for equipment and renovations needed for the project, according to Beshear. The medical examiner’s office and Kentucky State Police chose to locate their operations together as a way to reduce costs and make services more accessible to Northern Kentucky law enforcement agencies.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Ralston said Northern Kentucky cases have had to be transported to Louisville or Frankfort since the regional office closed. That has affected not only families and funeral homes but law enforcement officers who may need to attend autopsies as part of an investigation.
“We never expected our Northern Kentucky office to be closed for that long, but I can promise you, we never stopped looking for a location that would allow us to reopen this facility,” Ralston said.
Having the medical examiner and crime lab at the same location could also speed up portions of criminal investigations. Ralston said evidence that needs to go from the medical examiner to Kentucky State Police could, in some cases, be hand-delivered within the facility rather than transported elsewhere. The office will also be able to respond locally to natural disasters and mass-casualty events.
The Kentucky State Police Northern Laboratory currently receives more than 3,000 evidence submissions each year, according to Kentucky State Police Lt. Col. Larry Newton. Its current Cold Spring facility has limited space, while the new location will provide room for additional personnel and updated laboratory resources.
For Campbell County, the facility puts both operations within the county while reducing the need to send cases elsewhere in Kentucky. Campbell County Judge/Executive Steve Pendery said having forensic testing available closer to local courts and law enforcement can also help cases move through the criminal justice system more efficiently, potentially reducing costs counties incur while defendants are held in local jails awaiting the resolution of felony cases.
NKU President Cady Short-Thompson said the project gives a new use to a building the university previously acquired from Highland Heights.
“With a local office right here, families and victims will get answers more quickly and efficiently than ever before,” Short-Thompson said. “I cannot fully state how important that will be for people and their families, many of whom will be going through some of the worst days of their lives.”
Officials said the operation is expected to serve Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Fleming, Gallatin, Grant, Greenup, Kenton, Lewis, Mason, Owen and Pendleton counties.
