HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — It took about three years for the Post Mortem Commission to find a doctor who could fill the position left behind by retired Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Aurelio Espinola.
On Thursday, the Office of the Attorney General confirmed that Dr. Jeffrey Nine was selected as a potential candidate to serve as Guam’s new CME. His position would include an annual salary of $310,000.
Dr. Nine is currently the chief medical examiner of Yavapai County, Arizona.
He also has experience as a professor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; University of New Mexico School of Medicine; Wright State University School of Medicine, Dayton, Ohio; and Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica, West Indies.
Dr. Kenny Su, who was selected by the commission last year, declined the offer, expressing concerns over the budget and facility for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
Guam Attorney General Leevin Camacho told the commission that the Attorney General’s Office in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has committed to providing $50,000 in exchange for Dr. Nine’s forensic pathology services to the CNMI.
The commission will now offer him the position.
Death investigations
The lack of a full-time medical examiner on island for the past three years has impacted investigations conducted by the Guam Police Department.
On Thursday, Police Chief Stephen Ignacio said his detectives were waiting for the medical examiner from Hawaii to arrive to perform autopsies on the bodies of two men who were found dead in Yigo and Chalan Pago in recent weeks.
“It goes to show the need for a chief medical examiner on our island,” said Ignacio.
Investigators believe the two deaths were the result of foul play.
“Because we don’t have the medical examiner, we look at what’s presented to us and the outward appearance. But we cannot just rely on that alone, and that’s where the medical examiner is key in the examination of a lifeless individual.”
The chief could not disclose details of the condition of the two men.
“To make sure we protect the integrity of the investigation, we won’t be able to disclose much at this point,” he said. “We reach out to the community as well…. We rely on them for assistance and any information they may have.”
Police have not been able to identify the man who was found dead in Chalan Pago.
Ignacio said police continue to chase leads, however there’s been no word on potential suspects.
Officers with the Guam Police Department arrive at the site of a trash fire in Chalan Pago off Route 10 on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. They were called by the Guam Fire Department after possible human remains were found after the fire was extinguished.
