Jurors will be selected today for the first coroner's inquest in Schuylkill County in more than a decade, Christine A. Holman, county district attorney, said Thursday.
Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III will decide when the inquest will take place.
"It will be sometime between March 18 and April 1," Moylan said Thursday.
The inquest - a forum akin to a grand jury proceeding - will focus on Matthew Koncsler, 21, of Shenandoah, who died March 31, 2013, while he was an inmate at the county prison. Evidence and testimony will be presented, and the jury of six will decide if it suggests Koncsler died as the result of a criminal act or negligence or if the cause is still unknown.
"Mr. Koncsler, at age 21, was such a young man. Yes, he was troubled, but he mattered. And he does have family. And we still have questions. This was too perplexing. We've been kicking this around back and forth. And we may not uncover anything. But if we do, we'll see it as a bonus," Holman said.
Holman, who was elected district attorney in November, will serve as counsel to the coroner for the inquest.
Evidence will include toxicology results from NMS Labs, Willow Grove, Montgomery County, and testimony from prison staff, two of Koncsler's cell mates and members of Koncsler's family will give testimony, Holman said.
Moylan said Thursday the inquest will most likely be held at the courthouse.
"The inquest can take place anywhere. If there is a courtroom available, it will take place at the courthouse. If not, then it will take place at the Simon Kramer Institute in New Philadelphia," Holman said.
The coroner has not decided if the event will be open to public. The coroner has the right to make an inquest not public, according to Title 16, Section 1248 of the Pennsylvania Statutes.
Koncsler was sentenced March 20, 2013, on charges of delivery of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He began his sentence at county prison March 27, 2013, and was to remain there for three to 18 months. Prison guards found Koncsler dead in his cell at 7:30 a.m. March 31, 2013.
An autopsy conducted April 2, 2013, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest did not reveal an immediate cause of death, Holman said.
At the Jan. 17 meeting of the Schuylkill County Association of Medical Legal Death Investigators, Holman and Moylan announced their plans to hold the inquest. This week, they worked with President Judge William E. Baldwin and Bruce D. Heffner, deputy court administrator, to make arrangements.
Selecting the jurors today during jury selection for civil court will save the county money and time, Holman said.
"It saves us from having to mail out 100 or 150 letters, or whatever the quota is they mail out, for a special jury selection. So there's no additional cost to the county to have these additional jury members selected," Holman said.
Jury members selected for the inquest will be paid $9 per day plus mileage, Holman said.