Theodore Curphey

Who was Theodore Curphey?

Dr. Theodore Joscelyn Curphey was an American coroner who was the chief coroner for Los Angeles and Nassau Counties.

Curphey was elected Nassau County medical examiner on December 15, 1937 by the Nassau County Board of Supervisors. Prior to becoming county medical examiner, Curphey had worked as a pathologist at St. John's Hospital in Brooklyn and Meadowbrook Hospital in East Meadow, New York. As Nassau County's Chief Medical Examiner he oversaw the autopsies of Robert L. Bacon, Janet Fay, Owen Davis, Jr., and William Woodward, Jr.. He also worked with the FBI to identify the fatalities of Northeast Airlines Flight 823. While working as Nassau County Medical Examiner, Curphey also served as the Chairman of the New York State Medical Society's Public Health and Education Committee, President of the Nassau County Medical Society, and Chairman of the Nassau County Committee of the American Cancer Society.

On March 19, 1957, Curphey was announced as the first Coroner of Los Angeles County. In his first year as coroner, he was involved in a dispute with local morticians over delay in issuing death certificates. In November 1958, Curphey's autopsy procedures were investigated by a grand jury, which accused him of misconduct. The charges against Curphey were later brought before the Los Angeles County Civil Service Commission, which promised him that no further complaints will be filed against him.