Yes. Was surprised to see this initially, because of my earlier arguments about the autopsy thing. But then I realized that it makes sense because a coroner is not required to do an autopsy or determine cause of death. A coroner can also determine cause of death from circumstances and not perform an autopsy. So he was able to declare her dead and determine when it occurred based on medical evidence, but could not definitively determine the cause because he couldn't do an autopsy against the family's wishes, so the certificate is incomplete.
Just to address a few misconceptions: a cause of death is a medical opinion as to the pathophysiological reason why there is a cessation of viability. The death certificate has a section where this/these facts are recorded:
" The cause-of- death statement contains two parts, appropriately named Part I and Part II.
Part I A. Due to, or as a consequence of:------------------------------------
B. Due to, or as a consequence of:.-----------------------------------
C. Part II. OTHER SIGNIFICANT CONDITIONS: Conditions contributing to death but not resulting in the underlying cause of death in Part I---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part I is designed so that a sequence of conditions leading to death may be reported. Part II is for reporting conditions that pre-existed or co-existed and contributed to death, but did not result in the the cause reported in Part I. Part I will be considered first. It is formatted so that sequential information is reported with ONE CONDITION per line, starting with the most recent condition on the top line and going backward in time on progressively lower lines. " (reference: CAP: Medical Causes of Death Manual)
BBM: The coroner or medical examiner determines IF an autopsy will be performed, the family does NOT have "veto" power.
This certificate is incomplete because IMHO the MANNER of death has NOT been determined (choices are: natural, accident, suicide, homicide or undetermined). The reporters have been using CAUSE of death as equal to and the same as MANNER of death, again IMHO.
IMHO, the section where MOD is documented probably states, "undetermined, pending post mortem examination" and returning the body when the vent is removed or when the cardiac function ceases, which ever comes first, was a condition of release.