Former Coroner Wavis Jordan found guilty on all four counts in bench trial

Former Cape Girardeau County Coroner Wavis Jordan was found guilty on all four counts by Judge Fred Copeland on Thursday, March 6, on the second day of his bench trial at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse.

Jordan was 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. Copeland said it was overwhelmingly clear Jordan abused his office as coroner.

Several witnesses and Jordan gave their testimonies Wednesday, March 5. The prosecution, led by Gregory Goodwin and Miranda Loesch, assistant attorneys general, brought several witnesses who claimed Jordan allegedly refused to list or investigate the deaths of victims as anything other than a cardiac event.

In the case of victim one, Cape Girardeau Police Department’s Jacob Marberry said he asked Jordan about doing a toxicology report after her death. Marberry claimed Jordan told him he couldn’t do it because of not having needles. Jordan disputed the claim in his testimony, saying he told the police they would have to pay for a toxicology test.

Victim one’s mother testified in the trial and said she found her daughter unresponsive. The mother said she asked Jordan to do an autopsy on her daughter and he refused.

The mother said Jordan told her he would put it down as a heart attack. Patrolman Jacob Carter said when he found victim one’s body was deceased, he located drug paraphernalia and possible fentanyl-laced blue pills.

Carter said he told Jordan that victim one’s death could have been related to an overdose.

Cape Girardeau police officer Jordan Carson testified on victim two’s death and said when he responded to the scene, he found victim two unresponsive lying on his couch while Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” was playing in the residence. Carson said victim two was in his mid-20s and he was found wearing a diaper and had put towels under his body. Carson said he believed victim two was trying to keep the place clean.

Carson said he also found a piece of paper that contained research on a peaceful way to die. Patrolman Andrew Nabholz said when he responded to the incident involving victim two, he found a bottle of sodium nitrate and a piece of paper regarding the substance that was collected by the police.

Nabholz also added that he found a handbook on suicide on victim two’s computer. Jordan’s defense attorney, Lynne Chambers, asked Nabholz whether he had found a suicide note on the site, and he replied, “no”.

Scott Wren, deputy coroner at the time Jordan was coroner, said victim two’s case was familiar because the suicide was set up so “elaborately”. Wren said he did a toxicology test on victim two’s body, including drawing blood, and passed on what he found to Jordan.

Wren said Jordan told him he did not like to put suicide down as a cause of death since it was hard on the family. Wren said he thought Jordan listed the death as a heart attack.

Jordan said in his testimony that he was suspicious of victim two’s death and would have liked Wren to do an autopsy. Chambers asked Wren whether sodium nitrate could cause a heart attack, and Wren replied by saying he wasn’t qualified to say whether it could.

In Jordan’s testimony, while referring to a death, he said when he found fentanyl in one of the person’s systems, his research had told him the drug could stop the heart. Loesch asked Jordan whether he would classify that as a natural death, and he said yes.

Victim two’s mother said after she found out about her son’s death 11 months after it happened, she was told by the funeral home to contact Jordan. The mother said Jordan told her he had exhausted all efforts to contact victim two’s next of kin.

Former Cape Girardeau Police Department patrolman Nicholas Mayberry recalled a scene where he found victim three face down and deceased. Mayberry said he found a note in his office area containing instructions for victim three’s family, including a certain person “gets the car” and “I’m sorry for doing this”.

Mayberry said when Jordan arrived at the scene, he informed Jordan that police had responded to other attempts by victim three. Jordan specified in his testimony that in his investigation of victim three’s death, he never saw the note.

Cape Girardeau police officer Joseph Whistler recalled finding victim four deceased in her apartment. He said he found loose pills in her apartment and believed it was a suicide or overdose. Whistler said Jordan told him he would label it as a heart attack.

The Bureau of Vital Records state registrar and chief Dylan Bryant gave testimony on the importance of vital records. Bryant said the MoEVR system gives access to medical certifiers to certify deaths. He said a coroner would be one of those certifiers.

Bryant said when a certifier logs in to the system, it gives a prompt that provides a step-by-step guide to filing out a certificate. Bryant said the person didn’t have to fill out as many boxes in a form if the death was listed as natural. In response to a question from Goodwin, Bryant agreed there was less paperwork if the person said it was a natural death on the certificate.

Jordan said in his testimony that he had labeled deaths as suicides before, and he had no intent of falsifying records. Jordan also added that there wasn’t a single family member who asked him to change a death certificate.

In the prosecution’s closing statement, Loesch said the cases were “heartbreakingly” obvious. Loesch said Jordan told her if you drink poison, you’ll ”naturally” die.

In Chamber’s closing statement, about the misdemeanor theft charge, she said all the officers said they didn’t see Jordan steal money from the wallet. Chambers also said Jordan was still learning as the coroner.

Chambers said if Jordan committed a crime, it was one of trying to be humane and err on the side of caution; there was no sign of maliciousness.

Goodwin argued that even if he lied out of compassion, it’s still a crime.

Jordan’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30, at Cape Girardeau County Courthouse. Jordan also was allowed to remain free until his disposition.