Whatcom County Council confirms interim medical examiner

Whatcom County Council unanimously confirmed Dr. Aldo Fusaro as interim Whatcom County medical examiner during council’s September 10 meeting. 

County executive Satpal Sidhad recommended Fusaro for the position in a September 3 letter to county council. The Northwest Washington Medical Society and Sheriff Donnell Tanksley approved the appointment, as required in the Whatcom County Charter.

Fusaro’s confirmation will be effective September 11 and be a short-term position as Whatcom County goes through the hiring process for a new medical examiner. Fusaro will be a county employee.

The county began searching for a new medical examiner in early August after the county concluded an independent investigation into the storage of two bodies that were improperly stored and severely decomposed in mid-May. The county has been in legal discussions with the former medical examiner, Dr. Allison Hunt, on transitioning from her contract with the county.

Fusaro has served as deputy medical examiner of the Montana State Medical Examiner’s Office since 2017 and previously served as associate medical examiner for King County from 2005 to 2017. He started his career in the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in Chicago from 1997 to 2005 after attending medical school at Des Moines University.

As he serves concurrently as deputy medical examiner in Montana, Fusaro will split his time between states, according to the letter. Local pathologists will perform autopsies when Fusaro is in Montana.