press releases

February 13, 2025 – The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner positively identified Hak Wong (2025-01708), who died in the Palisades Fire. The DME has identified 23 of people who died in the wildfires and continues its work to identify the remaining six individuals. MEDICAL EXAMINER CASE NUMBER FIRE APPROXIMATE LOCATION DATE (Death…

February 10, 2025 – The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) today announced the identification of two more individuals who died in the Eaton Fire – Dalyce Curry (2025-00717) and Patricia McKenna (2025-00768). The DME has now identified 22 of the fire-related victims and continues its work to identify the remaining seven.…

February 3, 2025 – The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) today announced the identification of two individuals who died in the Palisades fire – Rory Sykes (2025-00759) and Elizabeth Morgan (2025-01300). The DME continues its work to identify the remaining nine victims. MEDICAL EXAMINER CASE NUMBER FIRE APPROXIMATE LOCATION DATE (Death…

January 29, 2025 – The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner determined the cause of death for 51-year-old actress Esta TerBlanche as intracranial hemorrhage due to blunt force traumatic head injury likely due to a ground level fall. The manner of death is accident. Ms. TerBlanche was found unresponsive at her home on July…

January 27, 2025 – Over the weekend, the 29th fire-related death was reported to the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) – case number 2025-01708. The DME continues its work to identify the remaining victims. MEDICAL EXAMINER CASE NUMBER FIRE APPROXIMATE LOCATION DATE (Death Pronounced) STATUS 2025-00521 Palisades Hospital Death 1/8/2025 https://me.lacounty.gov/case-detail/?caseNumber=2025-00521…

January 24, 2025 – The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner has positively identified 18 of the 28 victims of the Eaton and Palisades wildfires. The identification information is linked below. MEDICAL EXAMINER CASE NUMBER FIRE APPROXIMATE LOCATION DATE (Death Pronounced) STATUS 2025-00521 Palisades Hospital Death 1/8/2025 https://me.lacounty.gov/case-detail/?caseNumber=2025-00521 2025-00545 Eaton 3400 block of Monterosa Dr.…

January 21, 2025 – The information below contains cases in which remains are found and reported to the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) by the investigating law enforcement agency are listed below and are still under investigation by the Department. MEDICAL EXAMINER CASE NUMBER FIRE APPROXIMATE LOCATION DATE (Death Pronounced) STATUS…

January 16, 2025 – Cases in which remains are found and reported to the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) by the investigating law enforcement agency are listed below and are still under investigation by the Department. The DME cannot confirm human remains until after the DME processes them at our facility.…

January 15, 2025 – Cases in which remains are found and reported to the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) by the investigating law enforcement agency are listed below and are still under investigation by the Department. The DME cannot confirm human remains until after the DME processes them at our facility.…

January 14, 2025 (Updated) – The below list has been updated to reflect the remains in case number 2025-00909 were determined to be non-human remains.  Cases in which remains are found and reported to the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) by the investigating law enforcement agency are still under investigation by…