NEW PHILADELPHIA - Soon after Christine A. Holman was elected Schuylkill County district attorney in November, the county coroner told her he'd like to investigate a few deaths with a method the county hasn't employed for more than a decade - a coroner's inquest.
"Doc called me and asked if I would look into how to get it done, so I did a little research," Holman said Thursday night at the Simon Kramer Institute, where Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III has his offices.
"These are cases that require clarification. We'd hold an inquest in the hopes of determining the exact cause and manner of death," Moylan said.
Moylan said he's planning to do at least one this year. The first will focus on the death of Matthew Koncsler, 21, of 24 N. Market St., Shenandoah. Koncsler died March 31 at Schuylkill County Prison, Pottsville, where he was an inmate, Moylan said.
"Inquests are meant to be informative. They're advisory only, an aide to investigators," Holman said.
Moylan said another questionable death he may examine in a future inquest is the death of Edward J. Gilliam, 46, of 404 W. Penn St., Shenandoah, who died Sept. 30, 2012.
Holman believed the last time there was a coroner's inquest in Schuylkill County was when Dr. John J. Mika was coroner in the 1980s and early '90s.
Asked why there hasn't been one in the county in so long, Moylan said, "It's a lot of work."
At the end of a coroner's inquest, a jury can voice an opinion as to whether it believes a death was a homicide, a suicide, natural causes, accidental or undetermined, Holman said.
"You cannot use the inquest for any civil or criminal liability," Holman said.
"But it could be a helpful tool to law enforcement," Moylan said.
At the January meeting of the Schuylkill County Association of Medical Legal Death Investigators on Thursday night, Moylan introduced Holman, who was sworn in as district attorney Dec. 31.
Holman offered those present, including Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner Joseph Pothering, Minersville, and Foster Township police Chief James A. Nettles, insights into her future plans:
"I'm looking forward to a term where I'm dealing with Doc and you folks on some matters. The focus of my administration is combating drugs and blight and I do believe they go hand in hand. I'm working with my chief detective, Dolly Malec. One of these times I bring her with me to one of your meetings. She's a real spitfire. She's going through right now and inventorying everything that's in the office that was being used, or should have been used, by the drug task force. You would not believe the equipment that we found that was just laying dormant. And I didn't know this, but there was actually a separate building, a garage if you will, which had been turned into an office above the courthouse on Laurel Boulevard and it's amazing the stuff that's in there. We're going through that. We're working to reach out to local police departments to corral them back in to work with the drug task force. We have some new ideas and we're looking for support."