Philadelphia's chief medical examiner, Dr. Constance DiAngelo, resigned from her post this week.
Dr. Lindsay Simon, a forensic pathologist and a former acting chief deputy medical examiner in the office, will temporarily assume DiAngelo's role while officials search for a permanent replacement.
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The news comes just a few days after 6ABC reported that a Southwest Philadelphia family was suing the city after their 16-year-old daughter, Ashay McCord, was mistakenly cremated. The health department confirmed to PhillyVoice that DiAngelo resigned Tuesday, Dec. 12, but said her resignation is unrelated to the lawsuit. Representatives declined to give any further information on the resignation.
In the month following their daughter's death, the McCord family said they repeatedly called the examiner's office to reclaim the body for a funeral and learn the cause of death. After 41 days, the family received a certificate stating Ashay had been cremated. According to the McCords, the office said that their daughter was incorrectly listed as a Jane Doe, even as the family continued contacting the examiner's office.
"I said, 'When you called me the first time, I gave you all the information. You asked me about her doctor, who the pediatrician was, who was the neurologist. I gave you all that information.' And they said, 'Oh, well, we got her down as a Jane Doe.' I said, 'How?'" Aisha McCord, Ashay's mother, told 6ABC.
DiAngelo assumed the role of chief medical examiner in October 2022, saying at the time that it felt like fulfilling a lifelong dream. Her predecessor, Dr. Sam Gulino, resigned after the city revealed that human remains from the 1985 MOVE bombings were kept in a storage closet, unbeknownst to the victims' families, and almost secretly destroyed.
"If you’re not aware of history it will repeat itself," DiAngelo told the Inquirer last year. "I would never do the things that happened 35 years ago. As long as I’m here, it will not happen."