Chapala’s austere Sala de Necropsias (autopsy theater) was put into service for the first time last weekend for the practice of an autopsy on a local man who apparently died of natural causes.
Trinidad Muñiz Lepes, 55, suddenly took ill while he was out drinking at a local bar in the early hours of Sunday, August 23. After he complained of chest pains and shortness of breath, first responders from the local Civil Protection and Firefighters were called to the scene. The medics advised him to call it a night and seek medical attention. Instead, he remained at the watering hole until the symptoms worsened and he finally collapsed. A friend then rushed him to the Cruz Roja clinic where he was declared dead on arrival.
Officials at the Ministerio Público (district attorney’s office) were promptly notified and in turn contacted Chapala medical director Miguel Angel Ruiz Morales, recently qualified by Jalisco’s Institute of Forensic Sciences (IJCF) to carry out the duties of coroner. Arrangements were also made with a Chapala funeral home to transport the corpse to the local morgue:
By 7 a.m. on Sunday morning Ruiz had completed the post-mortem and turned over the dead man’s body to his family. Although his preliminary conclusions pointed to a heart attack as the presumed cause of death, pending results of toxicological exams will be weighed in emitting the final autopsy report.
The facility was set up in a spare room at the fire department base last October, but was not ready for use until the end of June when Ruiz completed his formal training in forensics and IJCF supplied essential equipment and supplies that were still lacking.
The major benefit of establishing a local autopsy theater is the relief it provides for next of kin who commonly experience delays and cumbersome bureaucracy involved in retrieving dead relatives from IJCF morgue in Guadalajara. However, since the Chapala facility has no refrigeration chambers as yet, it will only be employed when survivors or responsible parties are immediately available to take possession of the bodies and handle funeral arrangements.