Attorney General's Office dismisses case against former Cape County Coroner Wavis Jordan

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against former Cape Girardeau County Coroner Wavis Jordan on Friday, Feb. 21, days before his bench trial for the civil suit.

In the civil suit brought by Missouri’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey, the office asked to have Jordan removed from his position as coroner and be reimbursed for attorney costs. Current Coroner Craig Williams was elected to the position following the Nov. 5 general election.

According to the AG’s filing Friday, the suit against Jordan was dismissed because Jordan is no longer coroner.

According to prior Southeast Missourian reporting, the county still paid Jordan’s full salary while the sheriff’s office took care of his work. This was because the court had mandated him not to continue working until all legal matters were settled. Jordan did not have legal representation during his civil suit, as he told a judge in a July filing that a civil attorney wouldn’t take his case.

In the petition filed by Bailey, he alleged these failures by Jordan as coroner:

• stole property and attempted to steal property he was obligated to safeguard;
• knowingly entered the wrong cause of death for three people;
• failed to properly investigate the causes and manners of death of several individuals;
• failed to take the necessary steps to be prepared to investigate causes and manners of death;
• failed to obtain blood from two individuals who died in separate motor vehicle accidents;
• solicited family members regarding funeral arrangements of a deceased person.

While his civil suit has been dropped, Jordan is still facing a criminal trial at 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 5. He is facing three class E felony counts of providing false information to vital records and a misdemeanor theft charge regarding allegations he took less than $20 from a deceased person's wallet.

Jordan will be represented by attorney Lynne Chambers in the criminal case. Judge Fred Copeland will preside over the trial, which will be held at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse, 203 N. High St., Suite 129, in Jackson.

Chambers filed a motion to withdraw as Jordan's attorney Feb. 14, but the court denied her request. Chambers cited Jordan's failure to honor their agreement in terms of failing to pay legal fees, and failure to cooperate and communicate as one of the reasons for the request.