State of Utah: Charlie Kirk autopsy report will not be made public by medical examiner's office

Unlike other states, Utah doesn’t have county coroners. Instead, a state Office of the Medical Examiner performs required autopsies and issues those reports.

But autopsy reports are not public documents under Utah state law and may not be released to the public: They can only be released to the following: next-of-kin, law enforcement, a legal representative and a physician who attended the deceased person.

When asked by Crossroads Report today, the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner said they could not even confirm whether an autopsy was being performed on Charlie Kirk.

“We are not able to make any comment about any cases that have been worked on, past or present,” said Danielle Conlon, a spokesperson for the office.

Charlie with President Trump in 2018. (Getty Images)

The Utah Office of the Medical Examiner is part of the state Department of Health and Human Services. Autopsies are done by one of eight (8) board-certified forensic pathologists on staff, said Conlon. Investigations into the cause of death, she said, can involve: gathering information at the scene, interviewing people and performing a physical exam, including an autopsy and sometimes x-rays.

Conlon said the office’s forensic pathologists work closely with law enforcement on law enforcement-related cases, and also work with any healthcare providers who may have treated the deceased person. When asked if they work with ballistics experts, she said she wasn’t sure.

“I can’t speak specifically to ballistics,” she said.

Below is section of Utah state law governing the release of autopsy reports:

---

Effective 5/7/2025
26B-8-217. Records of medical examiner -- Confidentiality.

(1)For purposes of this section, "deidentify" means to remove personally identifying information about a decedent or the decedent's family and any other information that may be used to identify a decedent.

(2)The medical examiner shall maintain complete, original records for the medical examiner record, which shall:

(a)be properly indexed, giving the name, if known, or otherwise identifying every individual whose death is investigated;

(b)indicate the place where the body was found;

(c)indicate the date of death;

(d)indicate the cause and manner of death;

(e)indicate the occupation of the decedent, if available;

(f)include all other relevant information concerning the death; and

(g)include a full report and detailed findings of the autopsy or report of the investigation.

(3)

(a)Upon written request from an individual described in Subsections (3)(a)(i) through (iv), the medical examiner shall provide a copy of the autopsy report, toxicology report, lab reports, investigative reports, documents generated by the medical examiner related to any report, and any other specifically requested portions of the medical examiner record, if any, to any of the following:

(i)a decedent's immediate relative;

(ii)a decedent's legal representative;

(iii)a physician or physician assistant who attended the decedent during the year before the decedent's death; or

(iv)a county attorney, a district attorney, a criminal defense attorney, or other law enforcement official with jurisdiction, as necessary for the performance of the attorney or official's professional duties.

(b)Subject to Subsection (3)(c), upon written request from the director or a designee of the director of an entity described in Subsections (3)(b)(i) through (iv), the medical examiner may provide a copy of any medical examiner report or other portions of the medical examiner's record described in Subsection (3)(a), to any of the following entities as necessary for performance of the entity's official purposes:

(i)a local health department;

(ii)a local mental health authority;

(iii)a public health authority; or

(iv)another state or federal governmental agency.

(c)The medical examiner may provide a copy of a report or portion of the medical examiner's record described in Subsection (3)(a), if the report or portion of the medical examiner's record relates to an issue of public health or safety, as further defined by rule made by the department in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.

(4)Reports provided under Subsection (3) may not include records that the medical examiner obtains from a third party in the course of investigating the decedent's death.

(5)

(a)The medical examiner may provide a medical examiner record to a researcher who:

(i)has an advanced degree;

(ii)

(A)is affiliated with an accredited college or university, a hospital, or another system of care, including an emergency medical response or a local health agency; or

(B)is part of a research firm contracted with an accredited college or university, a hospital, or another system of care;

(iii)requests a medical examiner record for a research project or a quality improvement initiative that will have a public health benefit, as determined by the department; and

(iv)provides to the medical examiner an approval from:

(A)the researcher's sponsoring organization; and

(B)the Utah Department of Health and Human Services Institutional Review Board.

(b)Records provided under Subsection (5)(a) may not include a third party record, unless:

(i)a court has ordered disclosure of the third party record; and

(ii)disclosure is conducted in compliance with state and federal law.

(c)

(i)A person who obtains a medical examiner record under Subsection (5)(a) shall:

(A)maintain the confidentiality of the medical examiner record and deidentify the medical examiner record before using the medical examiner record in research;

(B)conduct any research within and under the supervision of the Office of the Medical Examiner, if the medical examiner record contains a third party record with personally identifiable information;

(C)limit the use of a medical examiner record to the purpose for which the person requested the medical examiner record;

(D)destroy a medical examiner record and the data abstracted from the medical examiner record at the conclusion of the research for which the person requested the medical examiner record;

(E)reimburse the medical examiner, as provided in Section 26B-1-209, for any costs incurred by the medical examiner in providing a medical examiner record;

(F)allow the medical examiner to review, before public release, a publication in which data from a medical examiner record is referenced or analyzed; and

(G)provide the medical examiner access to the researcher's database containing data from a medical examiner record, until the day on which the researcher permanently destroys the medical examiner record and all data obtained from the medical examiner record.

(ii)A person who fails to comply with the requirements of Subsections (5)(c)(i)(A) through (D) is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

(6)

(a)Except as provided in Subsections (6)(b) and (c), it is a class B misdemeanor for a person who receives a photograph or video of a decedent under Subsection (3) of this section to knowingly share, publish, or otherwise distribute or make available to another person a photograph or video of a decedent if the photograph or video:

(i)is part of the medical examiner's record; and

(ii)is not in the public domain at the time that the person shared, published, distributed, or otherwise made the photograph or video available.

(b)Subsection (6) does not apply to an employee or contractor of the Office of the Medical Examiner who, in the course of performing or assisting with the duties of the Office of the Medical Examiner, and in accordance with any applicable department rules, shares, publishes, distributes, or makes available:

(i)a photograph or video of a decedent for consultation with other professionals in determining cause and manner of the decedent's death; or

(ii)a deidentified photograph or video of a decedent for:

(A)training and services authorized under Section 26B-8-222;

(B)research;

(C)presentations and publication for academic or educational purposes; or

(D)other purposes provided by law.

(c)Subsection (6) does not apply to:

(i)a member, a contractor, or an employee of a law enforcement agency or prosecutorial agency who, in the course of performing or assisting with the duties of the agency, shares, publishes, distributes, or makes available a deidentified photograph or video of a decedent for the purposes of training;

(ii)an individual who shares or makes available a photograph or video of a decedent for the purposes of adjudicating a claim in an administrative or judicial proceeding; or

(iii)an individual who shares, publishes, distributes, or makes available a photograph or video of a decedent pursuant to lawful subpoena, court order, or the Government Records Access and Management Act.

(7)The department may make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, and in consideration of applicable state and federal law, to establish permissible uses and disclosures of a medical examiner record or other record obtained under this section.

(8)Except as provided in this chapter or ordered by a court, the medical examiner may not disclose any part of a medical examiner record.

Amended by Chapter 421, 2025 General Session