VA - Anjelica "AJ" Hadsell, 18, Norfolk, 3 March 2015 #19

[Fortbold]

Hi Zappped,

I had the pleasure of speaking with one of our very prominent local reporters here today because he was interviewing me about an issue that took place on my college campus. AJ has been cremated, and the COD hasn't been determined yet because no matter what the COD, a toxicology report has to be completed to be sure that nothing is left out.

Did the reporter tell you their source? Was it LE?

 

[zapped]

This is taken directly from the Virginia Department of Health website.

"The legal next of kin should contact a funeral home or crematorium as soon as he or she learns of the death to make final arrangements and sign a written release giving the medical examiner’s office permission to release the body to the funeral home. Once the examination/investigation has been completed, the body will be released to the funeral home and arrangements can continue. In most cases the remains can be released within 24-48 hours of admittance unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as issues of identification."

"Death certificates are deemed to be pending when laboratory studies or investigations are needed to determine the cause and manner of death. Unfortunately, a time frame for when a specific case will be completed cannot be established. The circumstances of cases differ and each case is handled independently. Depending on circumstances, some cases can take more than 12 weeks to complete."

The full FAQ can be found here

 

[zapped]

Hi Zappped,

I had the pleasure of speaking with one of our very prominent local reporters here today because he was interviewing me about an issue that took place on my college campus. AJ has been cremated, and the COD hasn't been determined yet because no matter what the COD, a toxicology report has to be completed to be sure that nothing is left out.

With all due respect, I dont think that reporter knows what he or she is talking about.

Per the Va Department of Healths official website:

"Death certificates are deemed to be pending when laboratory studies or investigations are needed to determine the cause and manner of death."

How can you release a body to a funeral home without a death certificate?

 

[emtmomma]

This is taken directly from the Virginia Department of Health website.

"The legal next of kin should contact a funeral home or crematorium as soon as he or she learns of the death to make final arrangements and sign a written release giving the medical examiner’s office permission to release the body to the funeral home. Once the examination/investigation has been completed, the body will be released to the funeral home and arrangements can continue. In most cases the remains can be released within 24-48 hours of admittance unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as issues of identification."

"Death certificates are deemed to be pending when laboratory studies or investigations are needed to determine the cause and manner of death. Unfortunately, a time frame for when a specific case will be completed cannot be established. The circumstances of cases differ and each case is handled independently. Depending on circumstances, some cases can take more than 12 weeks to complete."

The full FAQ can be found here

I'm with you zapped, I find it very unusual that she would be cremated all ready. But stranger things have happened and maybe they do have COD just can't finalize until toxicology returns. I do know here in Delaware the Medical Examiner has to sign off and ok a cremation before it can happen. So maybe LE has a solid enough case and just wrapping up the small details.

 

[FindHG]

I'm with you zapped, I find it very unusual that she would be cremated all ready. But stranger things have happened and maybe they do have COD just can't finalize until toxicology returns. I do know here in Delaware the Medical Examiner has to sign off and ok a cremation before it can happen. So maybe LE has a solid enough case and just wrapping up the small details.

The medical examiners, including the anthropologist and other experts may have everything they need from AJ's remains. How quickly and thoroughly information can be gathered may depend on how clear cut and unquestionable that information is, with or without the remains still available. So, if AJ's remains have been turned to ashes to be put to rest, then the information that ME already has may have been conclusive. *I just realized we pretty much said the same thing

 

[Mistree]

There was not an urn at the memorial service. I looked for it and it was not there.

I personally don't believe she has been cremated, YET!
Is it normal to NOT have an urn at a memorial service?
I ask because the relatives in my family have all had burials.

 

[emtmomma]

The medical examiners, including the anthropologist and other experts may have everything they need from AJ's remains. How quickly and thoroughly information can be gathered may depend on how clear cut and unquestionable that information is, with or without the remains still available. So, if AJ's remains have been turned to ashes to be put to rest, then the information that ME already has may have been conclusive. *I just realized we pretty much said the same thing

Great minds think alike lol [emoji4]

 

[skinnycat]

I personally don't believe she has been cremated, YET!
Is it normal to NOT have an urn at a memorial service?
I ask because the relatives in my family have all had burials.

Any funeral that I have been too that had cremation, there was an urn.

 

[Mistree]

Any time. I'm chock full of random info about archaeology, bone forensics, as well as the origins of zombies and vampire folklore [emoji12]

If there are marks in/on the bones, the forensic anthropologist can determine if they are from sharp object trauma, blunt object trauma, GS wounds and animal/vulture exposure.
Correct?
I'm also curious to know how or what they do to determine time or timeframe of death and if they were moved, AND if moved can they tell how many times moved post mortem?

ETA: and they can usually tell what type of an object/objects were used to cause the sharp/blunt trauma, correct?

 

[Luvrosco]

I'm curious to know if they will they be able to tell if she was sexually assaulted. Would they be able to test for the presence of semen at that point of decomposition?

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[skibaboo]

Any funeral that I have been too that had cremation, there was an urn.

I know I'm in a completely different country but my Dad was cremated, we didn't have an Urn, I never even saw anything. The funeral home arranged for his ashes to be buried under the soccer pitch at the stadium where he played when he was a footballer, and it was done that fast I didn't even know it had been done until the day after.

 

[jennipow]

Did the reporter tell you their source? Was it LE?

Nope, I didn't ask. I told him that I have been watching him and following her case and wanted to know why the COD wasn't released yet because I am a college girl and aside from truly caring about AJ, that if the perp isn't already locked up, then there is still danger to others in the area. This is another reason I believe it is WH, because why would LE let another person who could possibly be a killer roam free? Doesn't make sense. I told him I didn't want to pry and he said that I could pry away, but they let us know things as soon as they know. His camera man did mention that they have to be tight-lipped now due to certain events that happened in the past (not regarding this case), and I told him that I totally get it. I didn't even ask his opinion, because I didn't want to start any hearsay/rumors.

 

[wunderngwhy]

Did the reporter tell you their source? Was it LE?

?? "Did the reporter tell you their source? Was it LE?" ??

Was this ever clarified ?

Oh O K :thinking:

 

[Ontario Mom]

Whether she was cremated yet or not, I believe LE are crossing all t's and dotting all i's to make an air-tight case. There WILL be justice for AJ.

 

[Fortbold]

Nope, I didn't ask. I told him that I have been watching him and following her case and wanted to know why the COD wasn't released yet because I am a college girl and aside from truly caring about AJ, that if the perp isn't already locked up, then there is still danger to others in the area. This is another reason I believe it is WH, because why would LE let another person who could possibly be a killer roam free? Doesn't make sense. I told him I didn't want to pry and he said that I could pry away, but they let us know things as soon as they know. His camera man did mention that they have to be tight-lipped now due to certain events that happened in the past (not regarding this case), and I told him that I totally get it. I didn't even ask his opinion, because I didn't want to start any hearsay/rumors.

Thanks for the insight! I was just hoping we had some confirmation of the cremation via LE.

 

[missingm]

I personally don't believe she has been cremated, YET!
Is it normal to NOT have an urn at a memorial service?
I ask because the relatives in my family have all had burials.

The memorials that I have been to where the body was cremated, the cremation didn't happen until after the funeral. Since this in all likelihood would have been a closed casket, it doesn't seem to be important whether there was an urn or not. The immediate family could have had the body cremated and did a separate private ceremony including spreading the ashes, and it could have happened before the public memorial. At that point the urn is really unnecessary.

IMO, I feel better about the case for finding the killer if the body was already released. That would tell me that they have an abundance of evidence already. It points to someone who was close to her and LE seemed to have all of the suspects under a close eye by late in the first week.

 

[skinnycat]

I know I'm in a completely different country but my Dad was cremated, we didn't have an Urn, I never even saw anything. The funeral home arranged for his ashes to be buried under the soccer pitch at the stadium where he played when he was a footballer, and it was done that fast I didn't even know it had been done until the day after.

I think that is cool, here where I live we are not supposed to scatter the remains of a cremated body, however many families do.

When my brother died, he was to be cremated but my parents wanted him there for viewing and the service, he was cremated after the service my parents picked out his urn, it was kept in the living room for a few years.

 

[wunderngwhy]

The memorials that I have been to where the body was cremated, the cremation didn't happen until after the funeral. Since this in all likelihood would have been a closed casket, it doesn't seem to be important whether there was an urn or not. The immediate family could have had the body cremated and did a separate private ceremony including spreading the ashes, and it could have happened before the public memorial. At that point the urn is really unnecessary.

IMO, I feel better about the case for finding the killer if the body was already released. That would tell me that they have an abundance of evidence already. It points to someone who was close to her and LE seemed to have all of the suspects under a close eye by late in the first week.

IMO..... I completely agree "LE seemed to have all of the suspects under a close eye by late in the first week. "

JMHO completely agree ALL suspects and who might have been involved after the fact.... JMHO.... JMO

JUST MY HONEST OPINION

 

[runninglowonbananas]

I've never met an anthropologist that came to a conclusion without physically examining the remains. The only other reason to call in an anthro imo is to examine the dirt in which she was placed or buried. Soil composition is a great way to form a timeline. Changes in color and chemical makeup change in layers much like sediment in rocks.

 

[abstr]

A body can be released with a death certificate that states cause/manner as pending. (In the state of Maryland at least). The body can be buried or cremated. After the toxicology reports come back a new Amended death certificate is issued. You cannot collect life insurance and some other legal things until you have the amended certificate. I don't know of a case where a body wasn't released within at least a week although I am sure somewhere there is an exception to norm.