Calcasieu Parish Coroner's Office

Our office will be closed on Thursday, July 4, 2024 and Friday, July 5, 2024 in observance of the 4th of July holiday. We hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday spent with family and friends! 🇺🇸

In case of emergencies, our office can always be reached at 337-477-7537

Come see us at the Aetna Community Baby Shower! It is a great opportunity to learn important information about infant safe sleep!

🍼2009 N Simmons St
Lake Charles, LA, United States
🍼11:00 AM

April is and because of our work, we are able to see how important organ and tissue donation are to .
Our office advocates for organ and tissue donation through LOPA - Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency and Southern Eye Bank.

On Wednesday, March 20th, our Administrator, Sarah Drawl, Investigator Kenzie Ellender and Chief Investigator Megan LeBoeuf attended a candlelight vigil at St. Patrick’s Hospital in honor of those affected by organ donation. Chief LeBoeuf was a guest speaker and spoke about what donation means to her and our office. Please take a few moments to watch the video of her speech (video in comments) as it is very impactful and explains the importance of organ and tissue donation and the effect it has on all involved.

Construction is coming along nicely!

We are anxiously awaiting the completion of this state-of-the-art facility. The crews working to create this building have worked tirelessly and we appreciate all they are doing.

Happy International Women's Day to all the incredible women who shape our lives and inspire us to be strong, every single day.

We have a special group of women at this office. They are strong, resilient and hardworking. These ladies give all they have to their jobs and our community while also taking care of their families.

Ladies, yall are appreciated beyond measure.

This week is Medicolegal Death Investigation Professionals Week. These ladies represent decedents, their families, and our community to ensure that suspicious, violent, unattended, unexplained, and unexpected deaths occurring in Calcasieu Parish are investigated. Please join me in honoring them for their public service to our community.

The Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office would like to congratulate, our very own, Kenzie Ellender, on passing the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) Registry examination.

Before an investigator can sit for the exam, they are required to undergo at least 640 hours of work experience and employment with a medical examiner or coroner’s office. Months are spent learning hands-on, along with other death investigators, as well as studying literature. This accomplishment is sought after by death investigators throughout the nation and we could not be more proud.

The Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office is staffed with 4 full-time death investigators, who are now all ABMDI registered diplomates! There are only 2,322 registered diplomates in the United States in the field of death investigation.

We would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2024! We are very excited for the upcoming year, the changes headed our way and the future completion of our much anticipated new building! 2023 brought us many challenges, opportunities and new outlooks throughout the year. Our staff is ready to continue to serve the families of our community as we always have.

•the office will resume normal business hours tomorrow•

Through the selfless gifts of four of our organ donor heroes, 14 people received lifesaving transplants on November 17th. This record-breaking day comes on the heels of an all-time high 38 donors in the month of October.

We honor these donors, along with all our donor heroes and their families, for sharing their gifts of life with others.

November is Eye Donation Month in Louisiana as proclaimed by Gov. John Bel Edwards. This month is all about raising awareness around eye donation, honoring donors, celebrating recipients, and acknowledging eye bank and physician efforts in the eye donation process.

Southern Eye Bank gifted us with these eye socks for the part that we play in the donation process.

Happy Veterans Day from the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office.

We are thankful for the service and sacrifice of all our military.

Our administrative assistant, Faith Mekins, currently serves in The National Guard, 2228th MP Co 165th BN, at Camp Beauregard in Pineville, LA.

Faith’s father, John Mekins, served in the US Navy for 21 years as a Submariner. He was a stationed on a total of 6 submarines, spending 10 years on the East Coast at Groton Submarine Base and 10 years on the West Coast at Bangor Submarine Base. He retired in 2007.

Faith and Mr. Mekins attended the Veterans Day program at Life Christian Academy on Thursday. They were invited by Investigator Caldwell’s daughter, Camryn.

One of our investigators came across a Facebook post about Levi Graham and his patch wall and we knew we had to contribute to his collection!
We are so excited that Levi received the patches we sent him! His wall of patches is very impressive!

If you have a patch you’d like to send him, his information is below:

Levi Graham
P.O. Box 2212
Welcome, NC 27374

Also, check out his page - Levi’s Patch Wall

Our office took part in the Health, Wellness and Resources Fair at Sowela Technical Community College this past Wednesday. We were able to provide the students with knowledge about Safe Sleep, as well as distribute safe use supplies, such as Narcan.

We appreciate Sowela inviting us to such a great event!

Thank you to SOWELA Technical Community College for the 1st responder breakfast today. The breakfast was cooked by the Culinary Arts Department! Also, thank you to local elementary schools for the handmade cards of appreciation.

Because I have been with the Calcasieu Parish Coroner's Office since 1987, and have been coroner since 1996, I have waited for a retraction regarding false information printed in the "Weekend Talk" section of the Lake Charles American Press, Saturday-Sunday, August 5-6, 2023, "Charlie Hunter: Living his dream." Having the pleasure of serving with numerous outstanding staff members prior to, and after, his arrival, I am compelled to make the appropriate corrections.

The article credited Mr. Hunter with being chief investigator and director of operations for 20 years at the coroner's office; in actuality, Mr. Hunter was with the office for 17 years and three months. He became chief investigator many years after his employment began in 2006; Mr. Zeb Johnson held that position until his semi-retirement. Mr. Hunter later became office administrator following Mrs. Lynn Tete's retirement in June 2017.

Prior statements, not in the aforementioned article, of a two-year internship inferring any relationship with the coroner's office, before being hired, are also inaccurate, as an internship has existed only for the past several years.

Despite a significant focus on a former employee of the coroner's office, we remain fully functioning with a complete staff of expert, cooperative and passionate professionals. We are excited and anxiously await the opening of our new state-of-the-art forensic facility in 2024. We continue to graciously appreciate the opportunity to provide our services for the residents of Calcasieu Parish and surrounding areas.

Dr. Terry Welke
Coroner

Safe Sleep is so important to us. Please reach out anytime if you have questions about what is or isn’t a Safe Sleep environment for your baby.

PLATINUM SPONSOR ALERT! Please join us in saying a big THANK YOU to the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office for being our first Platinum level sponsor! We appreciate your yearly support!

The Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office would like to congratulate Dr. Terry Welke on his 8th consecutive, and well deserved, win for Coroner! Dr. Welke has served as Forensic Pathologist for Calcasieu Parish since 1987. In 1996, Dr. Welke ran for Coroner and was elected to his first of many terms! Since that time he has served dual positions. His role in our community is vital, and his expertise is second to none. We are fortunate to have someone with his knowledge and dedication in office. Recently, Dr. Welke retired from his role as forensic pathologist, but he remains devoted to the families in our parish as the Calcasieu Coroner. He will continue to provide answers for the families of those who are no longer here to speak for themselves.

He is a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather as well as a wonderful boss, that we are lucky to have. We are appreciative of the sacrifices he and his family have made over the years while serving our parish. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the citizens of Calcasieu! Please join us in congratulating, Dr. Terry Welke, for another 4 years of service.

The Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office will be closed on Monday, July 3, 2023 and Tuesday, July 4, 2023 in observance of the 4th of July holiday. We hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday spent with family and friends! 🇺🇸

🎆Remember to always practice fire safety when using fireworks!

🍺Please do not drink and drive!

In case of emergencies, our office can always be reached at 337-477-7537

On Thursday, Investigators from the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office attended the first community baby shower hosted by the Beauregard Health System. We were honored to speak about the importance of safe sleep and dangers that can accompany misinformation. Keeping babies safe is our goal and it is a privilege to share our life saving information!

The CPCO Staff would like to wish all of you father figures a very Happy Father’s Day! We hope your day has been full of love and time with your families.

This week we had the pleasure of educating students from Christus Ochsner SWLA AHEC and the Calcasieu Parish High School AHEC programs! Students got to see a presentation taught by Chief Investigator Megan LeBoeuf and Deputy Chief Investigator Megan Clement about the coroners office. In addition to the slideshow, students got hands-on experience with real organs and a special presentation by Zeb Johnson. We look forward to future AHEC classes and enjoy providing this education every summer!

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to the brave men and women who have selflessly lost their lives fighting for our country. The fallen will never be forgotten and to the families who have lost a loved one, may you always be comforted by their honor.

IT’S POLICE WEEK!! The Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office celebrated police week by treating some law enforcement agencies to lunch and treats. Although our office is small, we work closely with the law enforcement agencies in our parish and are so grateful for their hard work and dedication.

Thank you to the men and women that keep us safe daily and for your sacrifice to our families. 💙🖤

Happy Mother’s Day to the wonderful moms on our staff at the Calcasieu Coroner’s Office and to all the amazing women in our community! We hope you have a happy Sunday spent with your families.

Investigators Kenzie Ellender and Janci Caldwell participated in a mock car crash yesterday for Vinton High School. Mock car crashes can be very eye-opening and could save lives.

CAREER FAIR!!! Today the team at the Coroner’s Office spent the day at Starks High School for their career fair! The students were able to have a hands on approach to the daily life of our staff. What a great day with these students! The future is bright in southwest Louisiana!

Recently, the staff of the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office joined offices from around the state for the 2023 LOPA - Coroner Collaborative hosted by the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency. This yearly educational event provides training to Coroner’s and their staffs regarding the latest in Death Investigations as well as trends across the state. A special thank you to LOPA for another great conference! We encourage everyone to consider being a donor…please check out www.LOPA.org for more information!

Meet Administrative Assistant Makayla White! Makayla has been with the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office for nearly seven months. She began her career in June 2022. Makayla was raised in Ragley, LA where she graduated from South Beauregard High School before graduating from Sowela Technical College with a degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Death Investigation. During her college years, she was an intern at the Coroner’s Office. This is not Makayla’s first time as part of the CPCO team ….. she began her career as a part-time investigator in October 2021. Makayla filled in during a time of need and handled the position of investigator with skill and dedication. Unfortunately with no available positions, she left us briefly before settling in to her current role. She is that smiling face and welcoming voice everyone hears on the phone or sees when they walk in the front door. Her love for people and desire to help others makes her the perfect fit and such an important part of our team! Next time you call or stop by to see us, give her a big smile, we guarantee you get one back!

You have met the entire CPCO team! On behalf of Coroner Dr. Terry Welke, it is our honor to serve each and every person in Calcasieu Parish! Thank you for all of your support throughout the year!

Meet Assistant Director of Operations Sarah Drawl! Sarah has been with the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office for nearly one year. She began her career in March 2022 as an Administrative Assistant before being promoted to Assistant Director of Operations. Sarah was raised in Lake Charles, LA where she graduated from Barbe High School before graduating from McNeese State University with a degree in Sociology. Sarah comes to our office with 12 years experience at the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office. She held several positions before she left as a Felony Trial Assistant. She has caught on to the quick flow of the office and become a valuable part of the CPCO team. Her outgoing personality and attention to detail has been an asset to her position as well as part of the CPCO team! Sarah has quickly become active in our infant safe sleep initiative and other activities of the office as she loves working with the community. Just another great addition to the CPCO team! Stay tuned for our last update this afternoon!

Meet Investigator Kenzie Ellender! Kenzie has been with the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office for nearly six months. She began her career in June 2022 as an Investigator. Kenzie was raised in Grand Lake, LA where she graduated from Grand Lake High School before graduating from McNeese State University with a degree in Criminal Justice. Kenzie was an intern in August 2018 during her freshman year. After completing her degree, she returned to McNeese State University where she obtained a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration. Side note on Kenzie, she became interested in the Coroner’s Office during a summer program during her high school years. Kenzie was determined to begin her career at the Coroner’s Office and never really left our team after completing her internship. Although her career is just beginning, Kenzie has quickly become part of our team. Kenzie has proven herself as a dedicated and hard working investigator with a bright future ahead. It took several years but we are proud to have her as part of our CPCO team! Stay tuned to meet more staff this week!