Coroner’s Office Reports on Overdose, Accidents & Suicide

By Rob Sample

The Putnam County Coroner’s Office recently provided legislators with a mid-year snapshot of their work – in addition to clarifying the sad circumstances that call for their involvement and how such deaths get classified.

The briefing by John Bourges, one of the county’s three elected coroners, took place July 22 during the County Legislature’s Protective Services Committee meeting. Dr. Michael Nesheiwat and Wendy Erickson, RN, are the other two coroners.

Suicides, drug overdoses, and accidents are the three types of deaths that take up most of the coroners’ time. Bourges noted that the coroners have handled four suicides thus far in 2026, parallel with the number at this point last year. The year-end total was six last year, 12 in 2024, and 15 in 2023.

“We’re hoping that trend is continuing downward,” he said.

Bourges outlined how the coroner’s office interfaces with prevention programs and outreach to survivors of deceased individuals. He cited the work of the county’s Suicide Prevention Task Force, which has successfully brought together an assortment of community organizations that work together to prevent suicide.

“One of the things they created was the LOSS (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors) team,” he said. “Immediately after a suicide occurs in Putnam County, after we’ve spoken to the survivors of the family, the LOSS team makes arrangements to offer support.”

Bourges said he wasn’t aware of any other coroner’s offices statewide that provide the same immediate response. “We’re a small county and a small community – that doesn’t mean we can’t be the best at what we do,” he said.

Bourges noted that there were several children’s suicides during his initial tenure at the coroner’s office. Soon thereafter, the Suicide Prevention Task Force was launched. “We haven’t had one since then,” he said.    

Turning to overdoses, Bourges noted that the trend has been a mixed bag, with the county recording five overdoses so far this year. “In 2025 there were six, in 2024 there were two, and in 2023 there were 12,” he said. “These are drug overdoses, so when we have an acute death because of alcohol intoxication… it’s not counted in a lot of the statistics.”

In the past few years, the office has refined its reporting of drug overdoses. “Now, we understand the nature of the overdoses and the drugs that might have been utilized,” said Bourges. “The majority of overdoses are achieved with a mix of drugs.”

With both suicides and overdoses, Bourges said the coroner’s office does a deep-dive analysis to determine prior points of contact that victims of suicide and overdose might have had with law enforcement and assistance programs. He and his two colleagues also work with agencies such as the Veterans Administration to help prevent suicide and drug abuse.

One of those measures is the VA’s lock box program.

“This is a small box to try and reduce that time between a veteran’s decision to say, ‘I’m going to commit suicide,’ and access to a firearm,” said Bourges. “It’s something that’s hopefully going to put a break in (the cycle).”

One especially heartbreaking task involves attending to the deaths of children, which is relatively rare for Putnam coroners. This is due in part to the fact that in acute situations, children are taken to out-of-county facilities such as Danbury Hospital and Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla.

Attending to deaths among the elderly is a more frequent task. “Last year, we had 150 of those types of calls – and of those about one-third end up being signed by myself, Dr. Nesheiwat, or Wendy,” said Bourges. In such cases, the coroner’s office must try to resolve unexplained deaths, and averages perhaps 20 autopsies each year.

“Is there support from the county sufficient enough for you to do the job?” asked Legislator Thomas Regan, R-Brewster, who chairs the Protective Services Committee. “I want to make sure that things are going in the right direction.”

“We just actually did a renovation of the morgue, which was an important renovation considering how old it was,” replied Bourges. This was completed with $40,000 in funding from Putnam County, as well as an additional $40,000 from Putnam Hospital. New refrigeration units and cabinetry were among the many renovations.

Legislator Toni Addonizio, R-Kent, asked for more details on the type of support offered to grieving families, to which Bourges responded that one key task is ensuring family members understand the process and agree to meet with support services at a time and date shortly thereafter.

“Sometimes… there are 10 people there. Nine of them are nowhere near any condition to understand anything that’s going on, but there might be that one person” with which the coroners can interface, said Bourges. “We have a folder that we hand to them that has all the points of contact, places they can call.”

The coroners will then follow up with the family within a week after a death.

Legislator Nancy Montgomery, D-Philipstown, expressed appreciation for the service provided by the coroner’s office. “You’re the one on the scene, dealing with the family in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve,” she said. “I can’t tell you how appreciative we are for you and your team. Thank you.”