Nov 13, 2025 By Mike Jones 5 min read

Peters Township officials have joined the Washington County district attorney in trying to persuade a judge to force Coroner Timothy Warco to hand over autopsy and toxicology reports after he’s tried in recent weeks to charge police and prosecutors $700 for the records.

Township solicitor John Smith this week filed to intervene in District Attorney Jason Walsh’s motion to compel discovery trying to stop Warco from charging money for death investigation records that are supposed to be free to fellow government agencies, and to provide the reports to investigators.

The municipality filed the motion after its police department has been unable to obtain autopsy records for a child who died in Peters Township in August, leaving the investigation open.

“The Township files this Motion and joins to ensure that the law is followed and that the Township (and all parties) receive autopsies in a timely manner and unencumbered by unauthorized fees,” Smith wrote in his filing. “The Township requires autopsy reports … to conduct its investigations and determine whether criminal charges need to be brought.”

The situation came to a head Nov. 5 when Walsh’s office and police departments from Washington, Canonsburg and state police requested and were granted search warrants for Warco’s row office to seize autopsy and other records investigating five deaths in Washington County. Warco had refused to release them until a $700 payment was made or because he had not concluded a manner of death in some cases since the police reports were being withheld from him, leaving him in the dark on details of the investigation.

Walsh and Warco have been at odds for the past two years following a coroner’s inquiry in October 2023 that irked the district attorney. Since then, there has been little cooperation between the two row offices that typically work in synergy with one another.

Timothy Uhrich, who serves as Warco’s solicitor, said there is no provision in the law requiring the coroner to turn over autopsy records, although the Coroner’s Act of 1955 states “the coroner shall consult with and advise the district attorney as may be practicable.”

“Historially, we have shared our reports with the district attorney as a courtesy and a custom, because, contrary to the assertion of the district attorney, there is no explicit statutory requirement to provide these reports,” Uhrich said.

Uhrich added that each autopsy costs the coroner’s office $1,500, so the $700 fee is one way to recoup costs.

“We believe the time has now come, for budgetary reasons, to attempt to recoup some of these costs,” Uhrich said. “We are simply asking the district attorney to contribute at least a fractional share, given that he has the mechanism to recover his costs through the cost of prosecution. We simply don’t have that option available to us.”

But the $700 fee prescribed under the Coroner’s Act is only supposed to be charged to “nongovernmental agencies,” which are usually insurance providers or other businesses trying to determine liability in a person’s death. Melissa Melewsky, a media law attorney for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association who is more accustomed to fighting for transparency for news outlets, said it was unusual for a coroner to block investigators from accessing autopsy reports.

“I’ve never heard a coroner assessing those fees against law enforcement agencies. So that’s unique,” Melewsky said. “It is especially troubling since the government has a set timeframe to prosecute these cases. It doesn’t really make sense to me from a legal or practical standpoint.”

She wondered if the coroner was “conflating” the requirements for payment for nongovernmental agencies instead of just giving them to a fellow row office.

“That’s a commercial fee. Not someone operating in public interest,” Melewsky said. “It is odd to me that the coroner is imposing those fees on the district attorney’s office. I would expect (Walsh) to push back pretty hard.”

And that’s exactly what Walsh is doing following the search last week of Warco’s office and the motion to compel discovery filed that same day at the Washington County Courthouse. Walsh declined to discuss details about the death of the Peters Township child, whose identity has not been released, but he said the autopsy and toxicology reports are instrumental to the investigation.

“We’re all affected the same way by these decisions by the coroner’s office. Just as Peters Township said in its motion, it’s bizarre behavior,” Walsh said. “It’s bizarre behavior all around and I agree with Peters Township’s position.”

A hearing will be held at 9:15 a.m. today before President Judge Valarie Cosanzo to hear arguments on the motions to compel. In addition, Warco filed a response asking for a return of property in the five death investigation reports that were seized from his West Chestnut Street office last week.