This is an entry in a series called Cobb County Explained. To learn more about this series, visit this link to the series introduction.
A popular type of crime fiction, in book, cinema and TV, revolves around the work of medical examiners. One of the most popular is Patricia Cornwell’s fictional character Kay Scarpetta, the protagonist of a long-running series of novels, and now a television series.
But what does the real-life medical examiner’s office do in Cobb County?
The Cobb County Medical Examiner investigates certain deaths to determine how and why a person died. The office plays a key role in criminal investigations, public health tracking and the legal process after unexpected or suspicious deaths.
What is a Medical Examiner?
A medical examiner is a physician — usually trained in forensic pathology — who investigates deaths that happen under specific circumstances. That can include homicides, suicides, overdoses, accidents, deaths in custody, unattended deaths and deaths that appear suspicious or unusual.
Unlike a coroner system, which in some states is led by an elected official who may not be a doctor, Cobb County uses a medical examiner system staffed by physicians and forensic investigators. Cobb County abolished its coroner’s office in 1973. Prior to that a local hospital pathologist performed examinations and autopsies, and immediately before Cobb instituted a medical examiner system, Fulton County’s Medical Examiner took on the role.
How it works in Cobb County
The Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office handles deaths that fall under its jurisdiction within the county, including unincorporated areas, the seven cities within Cobb, and two federal parks.
When a death is reported, investigators first decide whether the office has jurisdiction. If it does, the medical examiner may examine the body, review medical records, visit the death scene, order toxicology testing, perform an autopsy if needed and determine the cause and manner of death.
The “cause of death” is the medical reason someone died, such as a gunshot wound or heart disease. The “manner of death” is the legal classification, including natural, accident, suicide, homicide or undetermined.
The office also signs death certificates for cases under its jurisdiction.
Some deaths are handled by other agencies. For example, deaths on certain state properties may fall under the Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner system, and deaths involving military personnel at Dobbins Air Reserve Base are handled by the Armed Forces medical examiner system.
What specific types of deaths are investigated by the Medical Examiner?
The Cobb Medical Examiner web page lists these types of death the office investigates:
- As a result of violence
- By suicide or casualty
- Suddenly when in apparent good health
- When unattended by a physician;*
- In any suspicious or unusual manner, with particular attention to those persons 16 years of age and under
- After birth but before seven years of age if the death is unexpected or unexplained
- As a result of an execution carried out pursuant to the imposition of the death penalty under Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 17
- When an inmate of a state hospital or a state, county, or city penal institution
- After having been admitted to a hospital in an unconscious state and without regaining consciousness within 24 hours of admission
*§ 45-16-21. Definitions. “Unattended death,” “died unattended,” or “died unattended by a physician” means a death where a person dies of apparently natural causes and has no physician who can certify the death as being due to natural causes. If the suspected cause of death directly involves any trauma or complication of such trauma, the death must be reported to the coroner or county medical examiner. An unattended death also occurs when a person is admitted in an unresponsive state to a hospital and dies within 24 hours of admission.
Why it matters to residents
The medical examiner’s office affects both public safety and everyday legal matters.
Its findings can become evidence in criminal cases, insurance claims and court proceedings. Accurate death investigations also help public health officials track issues such as overdoses, suicides and disease trends.
For families, the office can answer questions about how a loved one died and provide documents needed to settle estates, access benefits or arrange funerals.
What to know now
The Cobb County Medical Examiner operates from a county facility on County Services Parkway in Marietta. The office has investigators on call after hours for emergency death investigations.
Most death certificates are ultimately issued through Georgia’s vital records system, though the medical examiner may certify the death in qualifying cases.
The outline and part of the draft of this explainer was created with the use of AI (ChatGPT). The final version was written, edited and approved by Larry Felton Johnson.
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