Why a local coroner investigated death of Saudi Arabian royal, and the ‘rare infection’ that caused woman’s demise
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a series about former coroners in eastern Idaho.
IDAHO FALLS – Having the right motivations to do the job and the resources to be successful are Jon Walker’s values as an elected official.
The 63-year-old Palisades man is in his third year as a Bonneville County commissioner. Before that, he served as the coroner from 2000-2012.
The former firefighter and police officer was initially appointed to replace Vernal Rydalch, who passed away in 2020. Rydalch announced his retirement in 2000 after serving as coroner for more than 30 years. Walker was elected for the first time two years later in a contested race with his Democrat opponent.
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Walker recalled what he told county commissioners shortly after his inauguration.
“I said ‘I’m not here for a career. I’m here because there’s some things … that need to be fixed,'” Walker says. “(Once they are), I’ll resign.”
It took 12 years, but Walker was true to his word.
At the time, he says the coroner’s office was “poorly funded.” Autopsies were rarely done because there wasn’t a morgue or a forensic pathologist available. The coroner was a part-time position that was only paid $3,000 a year.
“You can only ask people to volunteer so much of their time to do terrible things,” Walker says.
Things are much different today. It’s a full-time position with an annual salary similar to county commissioners and other officials. As of Oct. 1, County spokesman Brad Clements says the coroner’s salary increased from $45,000 a year to $75,000 a year. A morgue and a forensic pathologist are readily accessible.
One of Walker’s proudest accomplishments is working with coroners in other counties to pass state legislation requiring a coroner to have basic training after taking office.
“It’s a required certification in forensics so they have an understanding of the science and what’s available. That law requires ongoing education for coroners for as long as they hold office,” he says. “It’s the only elected position that’s required to meet a scholastic standard … and I think that’s really important.”
A high-profile case and other drug-related deaths
Though the coroner was a part-time position in Walker’s day, he was on call 24/7 and frequently put in more than 40 hours a week.
Being a coroner in Bonneville County is particularly busy, he says, due to the existence of Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.
“Incidents that occur in Wyoming and Montana — victims are flown to Idaho Falls. When people pass away at the hospital, they become a Bonneville County coroner’s case,” Walker explains.
He recalls an instance when a member of the royal family in Saudi Arabia was visiting Yellowstone National Park. He overdosed on drugs and was flown to EIRMC, where he later died.
“I was dealing with not just investigating his death, but I was also dealing with the U.S. Consulate, the secretary of state and the royal family in Saudi Arabia to try and expedite the transport of the body back home for a funeral,” Walker recalls.
The Saudi Arabian government didn’t want his death publicized and requested the death certificate immediately. Walker remembers getting a call from the U.S. Attorney General, who wanted it “cleared up right away.”
While not every case Walker dealt with was high profile, he says drug-related deaths were fairly common. At the time, the coroner’s office investigated nine deaths a month from multiple prescription drug overdoses.
Opiates were usually involved, he says, and doctors were contributing to the problem.
“They (victims) were getting prescriptions to treat side effects of medications. You put those things in your body and then if the individual drinks a couple beers or takes some cold medication, they’re dead,” Walker says. “After I’d investigate one of these, I’d go around to all the doctors (and explain) that what they were doing was (killing people).”
This case led to a larger investigation on the state level about this issue. Today, prescription drug monitoring programs track controlled substance prescriptions electronically. It’s prevented a lot of unnecessary deaths, which Walker is happy about.
Strange and difficult cases
One of the strangest cases Walker investigated involved the death of a young mother. Doctors weren’t sure what caused it, but many of her organs were donated.
Walker’s team performed an extensive blood test and saw indications of heavy metal in her system, which suggested mercury or lead poisoning.
“Her husband worked in a facility where he had access to all those things. They were in the process of going through an ugly divorce,” says Walker.
No foul play was involved in this case, however. The husband wasn’t at fault, and her death had nothing to do with exposure to heavy metals.
“She had a really rare infection that caused the same toxin that heavy metals produce,” says Walker.
This meant her organs were infected as well and the beneficiaries were at risk. Walker was able to track them down and notify doctors. The patients were treated and cured without any complications.
Figuring out which bullet killed a suspect in an officer-involved shooting was Walker’s most difficult case.
Walker recalls the suspect had multiple felony warrants on various charges. It’s not clear what those charges were but he led law enforcement on a high-speed vehicle chase. Officers eventually chased him into a house.
“He (the suspect) came back out into the hallway just as one of the officers got to the door and gunfire erupted,” says Walker. “There were three officers shooting pistols and the bad guy is shooting his gun.”
Law enforcement didn’t wear body cams back then, so it was challenging for Walker to piece it all together.
“The guy had 16 entry wounds and four exit wounds (meaning multiple bullets went right through him). There were four more entry wounds than there were bullets fired,” he recalls.
Ultimately, Walker determined it was the suspect’s own bullet that killed him. He apparently shot himself in the neck a couple times as officers were tackling him.
He isn’t sure whether it was intentional or if the gun happened to go off during “the wrestling match.”
Though a coroner’s job is to find answers to provide closure for the family, sometimes the answers could not be found and the cause of death remained a mystery.
“It made us look closer and deeper and improve both the scene investigation and the science applied at the autopsy,” Walker says.
Coping and serving the community
The duties of a coroner were gruesome at times, but Walker learned to separate it from his personal life by “compartmentalizing.” It was intended to keep his sanity and emotions in check, but it wasn’t easy and he wasn’t always successful.
“A 12-year-old girl drowned (early on in my time as coroner). My oldest daughter was 12 (at the time). The victim had long, blonde hair just like my daughter. That one was really hard. I came home and held my daughter and cried because I felt the loss,” he says.
It gave Walker peace of mind to connect victims’ families and loved ones with resources to help them through the grieving process.
Since leaving office in 2012, he and his wife have served a mission in Russia for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Seeing what a non-American society is like has given him a greater appreciation for the right to vote and it’s made him more motivated to be involved in local politics.
That was the main reason he campaigned for a seat on the county commission. Over the last three years, he’s been heavily involved in planning Bonneville County’s 50-year traffic outlook and preparing roads and bridges for the future. Many different projects are being discussed and he’s seeking re-election in 2024 to continue his efforts.
He’s grateful for the opportunity to serve his community.
“There’s no way I can make a change in Washington or Boise, but I think I can have a positive influence here,” he says.
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH WALKER IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.
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