Art. 105 Coroner's report; admissibility in evidence

When someone dies and a crime may have been involved, the coroner has to write up a report on what they found. This report goes to the district attorney within ten days after the coroner finishes the investigation. If the case involves a homicide, the report must state the official cause of death.

This written report is separate from another document called a procès verbal, which is a formal record of the autopsy itself. Louisiana law requires both documents when an autopsy is performed.

In court, these two documents can only be used to prove that someone died and what caused their death. They cannot be used as evidence for anything else in the case. For example, prosecutors couldn't use the coroner's report to prove who committed a crime or what happened during it. The report's use is limited strictly to establishing the fact of death and its cause.