Morgue doctor, 45, found dead

— Dr. Daniel Konzelmann, assistant medical examiner at the state morgue, was found dead in his Hot Springs home early Monday morning.

A family member visiting for Thanksgiving discovered Konzelmann, 45, in his Summit Ridge Trail home, Garland County Coroner Stuart Smedley said.

“All appearances are that it was natural causes,” said Smedley, who was friends with Konzelmann. “There was absolutely nothing suspicious appearing at all.”

Arkansas Crime Laboratory Director Kermit Channell said the medical examiner’s staff met briefly after hearing of Konzelmann’s death. The staff didn’t pause long, however, because they had more than a dozen cases waiting — state pathologists don’t conduct autopsies on weekends or holidays.

The state morgue and the medical examiner’s office are in the state Crime Lab in west Little Rock. But Channell said Crime Lab officials arranged to have Konzelmann’s body transported to Memphis, where a forensic pathologist working for Tennessee will conduct an autopsy.

“This has happened in the past when we have someone who works here who has died,” Channell explained.

“He was a member of the pathology staff and interacted on a daily basis with the staff, and it wouldn’t be proper to subject them to conducting an autopsy on a co-worker. They were good friends.”

Also, he said, it is customary for the Crime Lab to avoid possible conflicts in cases involving employees.

Konzelmann first worked in the state morgue during a one-year fellowship in the late 1990s, Channell said. He joined the staff as a full-time pathologist in November 2004.

Arkansas, Pages 12 on 11/29/2011

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