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As a forensic pathologist, I’ve spent most of my career unraveling the cold truths the dead leave behind—examining evidence that often speaks more clearly than the living ever could. Most of the cases I cover on Kohroner Chronicles are ones I’ve performed the autopsy for or at least reviewed directly for a local jurisdiction. But now and then, I get a case that’s entirely outside the norm.

This one came from a thousand miles away.

I’d never set foot in Montana before—still haven’t, actually—but a public defender out there found me during my semi-retirement and asked me to review a case involving a shooting. The catch? The circumstances involved an unfamiliar cast of characters, a love triangle gone sideways, and—most bizarrely—a can of bear spray.

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Dr. Roland Kohr, forensic pathologist and host of The Kohroner Chronicles podcast, is no stranger to the murky waters of death investigations. But in episode 19, he pulled back the curtain on a disturbing case where a combination of questionable police conduct and a deeply flawed investigation allowed a woman who likely murdered her husband to walk free.

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“This Is Not How It’s Done”: Dr. Kohr on Missteps, Misinformation, and a Crime Scene Gone Wrong

By the time Dr. Roland Kohr, forensic pathologist and former Vigo County coroner, found himself in conflict with the Terre Haute Police Department, he had already been involved with more homicides than most local detectives had even seen.

“I found out I was the bad guy,” he recalls. “I heard through the grapevine: ‘Who the heck does Dr. Kohr think he is telling us how to run police work? He’s never been a cop.’”

What they overlooked, however, was that Kohr had examined far more homicides than the entire detective division combined. Many of whom, at that point, had only handled two.

“That set the tone for the next four years,” he says, “and it was a great tragedy.”

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Q&A with Dr. Roland Kohr, Host of Kohroner Chronicles

Q: Dr. Kohr, how did you choose forensics as your career path?
A: I often say forensics chose me. I decided to become a doctor as early as ninth grade, inspired by a classmate who said he wanted to go into medicine. I liked science and math, and medicine seemed like a stable and respected career. My original interests leaned toward medical genetics. I even considered pursuing an MD/PhD, but after my first year of medical school, I realized that wasn’t the right direction.

Eventually, I gravitated toward surgery because I liked the idea of doing something definitive, fixing problems rather than managing chronic conditions. I began a general surgery residency but didn’t complete it. During medical school, I had done rotations in pathology, partly to help with surgical training, and I found it fascinating, especially the autopsy service.

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Dr. Roland Kohr, longtime forensic pathologist and host of the Kohroner Chronicles podcast, is no stranger to serious and sometimes chilling stories. But in a recent episode, he recounted a case that brought unexpected humor, involving hearts, pranks, and an unforgettable Thanksgiving Day.

A Midwest Prank Takes a Bizarre Turn

As Dr. Kohr explained, mischievous pranks have long been a Halloween tradition across the Midwest, such as lighting a bag of dog feces on fire on someone’s porch. But one year, a prankster raised the stakes.

Instead of a flaming bag, homeowners in Terre Haute found an unlit paper sack containing a piece of meat. Upon closer inspection, they realized they were staring at what appeared to be a heart, possibly a human one. Alarmed, they immediately called 911.

First Stop: The ER — And More Questions

Police arrived quickly and retrieved the strange specimen. With the hour growing late, officers took the heart to Union Hospital’s emergency room, hoping an ER doctor could identify it.

However, as Dr. Kohr noted, ER doctors rarely handle whole human hearts outside of very specialized fields like open heart and transplant surgery or autopsy pathology. The doctor on duty admitted he couldn’t tell if it was human, and recommended they call the coroner.

The task fell to Dr. Kohr, who arranged to meet officers the next morning at the hospital.

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In a recent episode of his true-crime podcast Kohroner Chronicles, veteran forensic pathologist Dr. Roland Kohr took listeners inside a puzzling case from rural Illinois— a case that underscores the critical role of thorough investigation and a healthy dose of skepticism when dealing with suspicious deaths.

Working Across Indiana and Illinois

Throughout his career, Dr. Kohr served as a forensic pathologist for up to 20 counties across Indiana and Illinois. While some of these areas had only part-time marshals or small-town deputies, Dr. Kohr stressed that appearances could be deceiving — and sometimes the most unassuming officers were the most tenacious and sharp.

In the case he recalled, it was a nearing-retirement sheriff’s deputy — whom Dr. Kohr referred to as "T.R." — who proved instrumental.

A Death That Didn't Quite Add Up

The case began with what appeared to be a tragic accident. A woman called 9-1-1 on a Sunday afternoon to report that her husband had accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun in their family room. The scene was set: gun-cleaning supplies neatly placed on a TV tray, the man found dead in his recliner with a gunshot wound to the forehead.

First responders, including attentive paramedics and sheriff’s deputies, noted details that would later raise doubts about the initial story. Dr. Kohr emphasized that early observations at a death scene are crucial and that even small details can become pivotal.

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"Sometimes fiction is stranger than truth. And sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction—and occasionally, one overtakes the other."

Welcome back to another gripping episode of the Kohroner Chronicles, where we peel back the layers of darkness hiding in autopsy rooms and crime scenes. I’m Dr. Roland Kohr, forensic pathologist, and today we’re revisiting a case that eerily foreshadowed a scene made infamous in Breaking Bad, years before Vince Gilligan ever dreamed it up.

Breaking Bad—Before Breaking Bad

Most fans of Breaking Bad will recall the first-season scene where bodies are dissolved in acid. But right here in Vigo County, Indiana, we faced a real-life version of that gruesome tableau long before Hollywood got wind of it.

It started, as so many tragedies do, with a drug deal gone south. One co-conspirator shot the other and was left with a harrowing dilemma: how do you dispose of a body? His answer: acid.

Hydrochloric acid isn’t exactly a household item. Yet in this rural part of Indiana, small oil wells pepper the landscape, and acid drums aren’t unheard of at those sites. Though we never traced the exact origin of the acid used, that theory remains our leading contender.

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Not every case that comes across the autopsy table is a sensational act of violence or a calculated crime. Sometimes, it’s not neglect in the traditional sense. Sometimes, it’s ignorance, and the price is tragically high.

In this episode, we look at the death of a 14-year-old girl whose life ended not with malice, but with a misjudgment so severe, it left a trail of questions that needed answers only an autopsy could reveal.

A Special Needs Patient, A Complex Procedure

The young girl in this case lived with profound developmental disabilities. While she was 14 in age, her mental function was closer to that of a 3- or 4-year-old. Her care was a challenge, especially when it came to basic medical procedures, like dental care.

Each year, she was taken to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, where dental work could be safely completed under general anesthesia. For such procedures, doctors opted for nasal tracheal intubation, a breathing tube inserted through the nose instead of the mouth, to allow full access to the oral cavity.

A Bleeding Complication

On her most recent visit, the procedure was routine, until the end. Upon removing the breathing tube, she suffered a significant nasal hemorrhage. Not severe enough to panic the physicians, but serious enough to warrant extended monitoring. There was concern she may have aspirated blood into her lungs.

After several hours of observation, she was deemed stable and discharged. Along with instructions, the family was sent home with Tylenol with codeine, a once-common narcotic pain reliever.

A Shocking Morning Discovery

Two days later, on a Wednesday morning, the child’s grandmother found her non-responsive and covered in blood. Emergency services were summoned, but it was too late. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. That’s when I received the call.

What looked like a post-surgical complication now demanded a full forensic autopsy. Had she drowned in her own blood? Had the pain medication played a role?

The Autopsy: Blood in the Lungs

The autopsy confirmed the grim suspicion: her airways were filled with blood. She had aspirated a significant amount, effectively drowning in her sleep. But that wasn’t the end of the mystery.

Toxicology results were ordered, standard in any pediatric death, and especially vital in a case involving prescribed narcotics.

A Toxic Twist

While waiting on lab results, I received repeated calls from the girl’s mother, pressing for the report. She even mentioned needing it for an attorney. Something in the tone raised red flags.

Two weeks later, the toxicology report came in. It revealed toxic levels of codeine in the child’s system. Not a full-blown overdose, but well beyond what would be considered safe or therapeutic.

I immediately contacted the family. When I mentioned the codeine levels, chaos erupted on the other end of the phone. Screaming. An argument in the background. Then silence.