Wyoming coroners don't have a uniform practice for collecting evidence - including prescription drugs - during investigations, according to interviews with coroners from around the state.

While coroners all receive basic training to hold office, once they reach the field, practices vary by county.

"You have 23 coroners, so you probably have 23 ways of doing things," said Fremont County Coroner Edward McAuslan. "Certain aspects will be the same. Some will be different."

Coroners typically maintain a low profile in comparison to other officials, like police and prosecutors, who deal with deaths. But their work received additional attention after state agents disclosed last month they've been investigating Natrona County Chief Deputy Coroner Gary Hazen.

The case, by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, centers on suspicions Hazen took prescription drugs and pornography from the homes of dead people. His ex-wife told investigators he would bring the drugs home and use them, according to a sworn statement by a state agent.

Hazen, who has not responded publicly to the allegations, hasn't been arrested or charged with any crime.

While not commenting on Hazen or the investigation, coroners from Albany, Fremont, Sweetwater and Campbell counties described to the Star-Tribune their methods of collecting evidence, including prescription drugs. The interviews revealed how their practices differ, as well as the effort underway to establish minimum statewide standards.

Evidence collection

In Wyoming, coroners receive more than 40 hours of training - often from the state law enforcement academy - to hold office. After that, they undergo another 20 hours of training every two years to maintain their certification.

Although many are trained at the same place, when they get into the field, coroners' practices vary when it comes to evidentiary procedures. Some only collect evidence if it's on the body itself. Others might take items from the surrounding scene if it appears connected to the cause of death.

Sweetwater County Coroner Dale Majhanovich falls into the former camp.

"My jurisdiction is the body and the body only," he said. "The scene itself is law enforcement."

Majhanovich, who's been in the coroner's office for 26 years, performs his job alongside law enforcement personnel. If the evidence isn't on the body, it is up to officers and deputies to handle it.

Albany County Coroner Thomas Furgeson said there are times when property that's not on the body needs to be collected by a coroner. It depends on the context and whether the evidence is tied to the mechanism of death, he explained.

"If the coroner thinks it is germane to getting to the cause or nature of death, and law enforcement is not taking it, I think the coroner is wise to take it into evidence," said Furgeson, who's president of the Wyoming Coroners Association.

In general, coroners follow the same rules concerning evidence as peace officers, said Thomas Eekhoff, the Campbell County Coroner and chairman of the Wyoming Board of Coroners Standards. That includes logging in and maintaining the integrity of the evidence they collect.

"A lot of it reflects law enforcement because, after all, we work hand in hand," he said.

Prescription drugs

Regardless of how people die, coroners are interested in their medications.

If half the pills are missing, a recently filled prescription could point toward an overdose. A bottle of untouched drugs might suggest a person stopped taking his meds before he died.

Coroners can also compare the medications to the results of toxicology tests performed during death investigations.

While all coroners want to know about medications, they have different procedures for dealing with the drugs.

It's common for coroners to take medications of the deceased, Eekhoff said.

"If it is prescribed to that individual, the deceased, then you collect them," he said.

Coroners don't just rummage through a home searching for pills, he added. Instead, they speak to survivors who are usually willing to provide them with the medication.

McAusland's office also takes the dead person's medications. They are inventoried by an evidence custodian at the time of collection, and again before being destroyed. One pill or tablet is always kept in case it's needed in the future.

In contrast, law enforcement officers in Sweetwater County usually handle medications, said Majhanovich.

"They give me a list of what they've found," he said.

That includes the name of the drug, the number of tablets in the bottle, the number that should be there and the date the prescription was issued.

If officers don't collect the drugs, Majhanovich's office will take them and store them in a morgue locker.

"Once we get the results back, they are destroyed," he said.

Protecting the family

The investigation into Hazen isn't limited to prescription drugs. Agents also learned that people who worked with Hazen had reservations about his alleged instructions to collect pornography from homes. Hazen, according to an affidavit by a DCI agent, would justify the taking of pornography as a way to spare the family of embarrassment.

None of the coroners who spoke with the Star-Tribune said they would collect evidence for that reason.

"I'm not going to take anything that is not pertinent to the death of the individual," Eekhoff said.

Majhanovich said he wouldn't take property to prevent embarrassment because, in Sweetwater County, items not on the body are handled by law enforcement.

McAuslan, the Fremont County coroner, said he would only remove pornography from a home if it was somehow related to the death.

Although it's a rare occurrence, McAuslan can recall at least one occasion where he removed property that wasn't tied to the death. He once responded to a suicide where the person left $60,000 in cash in a box.

In that instance, the coroner's office took the money into custody and put it into a safe deposit box until it could be properly released.

The future

Months before the Hazen case became public, the Board of Coroners Standards began work on setting standards for coroners across the state.

The standards deal with basic issues like scene investigation and inventory of evidence. The guidelines, which are now under review, aren't designed to dictate exactly how coroners perform investigations, Eekhoff explained. Rather they are minimum standards with some flexibility.

For example, the board wants coroners to take photographs, but it won't be telling them what kind of camera to use.

"There is leeway for the coroners to proceed in any manner they feel comfortable," Eekhoff said.

Even when the standards are put into practice, there's still the issue of ensuring they are followed. The board isn't currently empowered to do so, but it's working with legislators to decide how to regulate and sanction coroners who fail to adhere to standards.

The effort is progressing, according to Eekhoff.

"We are hopefully getting there," he said. "It's been a long time."

Reach crime reporter Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com.