Hazards of a Coroner: Dr. Kohr’s Stories from the Edge of Danger
Send us a textFor most, a crime scene conjures images of detectives and evidence tape. For Dr. Roland Kohr, former Vigo County Coroner and longtime forensic pathologist, it meant stepping into environments as hazardous as they were tragic. “Of course you worry about what you’re exposing yourself to, the filth, potential bacterial growth, what you might bring home with you,” he says. His routine often included stripping down in the garage, bagging contaminated clothes, and showering immediately before setting foot inside his own house.
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Dr. Roland Kohr Reflects on the Delphi Murders and Media Portrayals
Send us a textIn August 2025, Hulu released its highly anticipated three-part documentary Down the Hill: The Delphi Murders. Forensic pathologist Dr. Roland Kohr, who performed the autopsies on the two teenage victims in 2017, was among those interviewed. State police had specifically requested Dr. Kohr’s expertise, despite Delphi being 100 miles from his Terre Haute base, an honor he has considered a professional compliment and recognition of his reputation by law enforcement.But when the series aired, Dr. Kohr found his five-hour interview reduced to less than a minute of screen time. His comments focused narrowly on the emotional toll of working child homicide cases, while his detailed insights on forensic evidence and the murder weapon were omitted. “I was disappointed,” he admitted, “that my substantive findings never made it to air, while amateur internet sleuths were given extended credibility.”
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Bear Spray
Send us a textAs a forensic pathologist, I’ve spent most of my career unraveling the cold truths the dead leave behind—examining evidence that often speaks more clearly than the living ever could. Most of the cases I cover on Kohroner Chronicles are ones I’ve performed the autopsy for or at least reviewed directly for a local jurisdiction. But now and then, I get a case that’s entirely outside the norm.This one came from a thousand miles away.I’d never set foot in Montana before—still haven’t, actually—but a public defender out there found me during my semi-retirement and asked me to review a case involving a shooting. The catch? The circumstances involved an unfamiliar cast of characters, a love triangle gone sideways, and—most bizarrely—a can of bear spray.
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Death in Darkness
Send us a textDr. Roland Kohr, forensic pathologist and host of The Kohroner Chronicles podcast, is no stranger to the murky waters of death investigations. But in episode 19, he pulled back the curtain on a disturbing case where a combination of questionable police conduct and a deeply flawed investigation allowed a woman who likely murdered her husband to walk free.
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Meningitis Morons
Send us a text“This Is Not How It’s Done”: Dr. Kohr on Missteps, Misinformation, and a Crime Scene Gone WrongBy the time Dr. Roland Kohr, forensic pathologist and former Vigo County coroner, found himself in conflict with the Terre Haute Police Department, he had already been involved with more homicides than most local detectives had even seen.“I found out I was the bad guy,” he recalls. “I heard through the grapevine: ‘Who the heck does Dr. Kohr think he is telling us how to run police work? He’s never been a cop.’”What they overlooked, however, was that Kohr had examined far more homicides than the entire detective division combined. Many of whom, at that point, had only handled two.“That set the tone for the next four years,” he says, “and it was a great tragedy.”
USA