The Texas County Coroner’s office answered 31 calls in December 2023.
In the community, there were 24 natural deaths, including seven deaths due to heart disease, four deaths due to cancer; three deaths due to myocardial infarction, three deaths due to renal failure, two deaths due to sepsis, two deaths due to stroke, one death due to pneumonia, one death due to liver failure and one death due to intestinal bleeding secondary to alcoholism.
There were three accidental deaths in the community: two motor vehicle accidents and one farming-related.
There were four offender deaths at South Central Correctional Center in December. One was due to cancer, one accidental death due to mixed fentanyl and methamphetamine overdose, one due to homicide by stabbing, and autopsy results are pending at this time on the fourth case. In total, there have been 18 deaths at SCCC this year, compared with the norm of approximately six deaths per year. Multiple measures have been put in place to correct these happenings, and the correctional officers should be commended for the difficult tasks they face each and every day.
By the end of January, my annual coroner’s report should be posted online at texascountymissouri.gov under the Coroner tab. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your coroner.
Marie Lasater, RN, MSN, F-ABMDI
Texas County Coroner