Jurisdiction in forensic autopsy
If a wanted criminal, someone high on the FBI's Most Wanted list, was murdered by an unknown assailant, who would have the jurisdiction over the autopsy? I presume that a forensic would be ordered because 1) he's been murdered and 2) he's a wanted criminal. The man in question is not a US citizen, but he's murdered in Washington, DC.
In my (yet embryonic) story, there's some subterfuge over the body: people who shouldn't have possession of the body finagle a way to get jurisdiction for the autopsy, then remove the body to a location of their choosing and do whatever with it. These folks have a high level of resources available to them that allows them to fake legal paperwork or otherwise manipulate the legal systems to get what they want.
I envision a scene in which the 'proper' medical examiner getting ready to do the autopsy when the interlopers burst in waving their paperwork and demanding to take possession of the body immediately. I expect a superior would need to examine the fake paperwork, as the ME wouldn't be able to authorise such a transfer.
How does this sound to those of you in the know? What sort of details do I need to chase down to make a (brief) scene seem plausible to your average reader?
Thanks much in advance for any help you can give me on this.
In my (yet embryonic) story, there's some subterfuge over the body: people who shouldn't have possession of the body finagle a way to get jurisdiction for the autopsy, then remove the body to a location of their choosing and do whatever with it. These folks have a high level of resources available to them that allows them to fake legal paperwork or otherwise manipulate the legal systems to get what they want.
I envision a scene in which the 'proper' medical examiner getting ready to do the autopsy when the interlopers burst in waving their paperwork and demanding to take possession of the body immediately. I expect a superior would need to examine the fake paperwork, as the ME wouldn't be able to authorise such a transfer.
How does this sound to those of you in the know? What sort of details do I need to chase down to make a (brief) scene seem plausible to your average reader?
Thanks much in advance for any help you can give me on this.