Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title VI Chapter 38
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 38, § 4 (2026)

Investigation; transportation of bodies

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 4. Upon notification of a death in the circumstances enumerated in section three, the chief medical examiner or his designee shall carefully inquire into the cause and circumstances of the death. If, as a result of such inquiry, the chief medical examiner or such designee is of the opinion that the death was due to violence or other unnatural means or to natural causes that require further investigation, he shall take jurisdiction. The body of the deceased shall not be moved, and the scene where the body is located shall not be disturbed, until either the medical examiner or the district attorney or his representative either arrives at the scene or gives directions as to what shall be done at the scene. In such cases of unnatural or suspicious death where the district attorney's office is to be notified, the medical examiner shall not disturb the body or the scene without permission from the district attorney or his representative.

The medical examiner shall be responsible for making arrangements for transport of the body. The district attorney or his law enforcement representative shall direct and control the investigation of the death and shall coordinate the investigation with the office of the chief medical examiner and the police department within whose jurisdiction the death occurred. Either the medical examiner or the district attorney in the jurisdiction where death occurred may order an autopsy. Cases requiring autopsy shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the office for such purpose. As part of his investigation, the chief medical examiner or his designee may, in his discretion, notwithstanding any other provision of law, cause the body to be tested by the department of public health for the presence of any virus, disease, infection, or syndrome which might pose a public health risk.

If the medical examiner is unable to respond and take charge of the body of the deceased in an expeditious manner, the chief of police of the city or town wherein the body lies, or his representative, may, after conferring with the appropriate district attorney, move the body to another location until a medical examiner is able to respond. Before moving the body the police shall document all facts relevant to the appearance, condition and position of the body and every fact and circumstance tending to show the cause and circumstances of death.

In carrying out the duties prescribed by this section, the chief medical examiner or his designee shall be entitled to review and receive copies of medical records, hospital records, or information which he deems relevant to establishing the cause and manner of death. No person or hospital shall be subject to liability of any nature for providing such records or information in good faith at the request of the office. The chief medical examiner shall notify the local district attorney of the death of a child immediately following receipt of a report that such a death occurred.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2008–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Nardi, 893 N.E.2d 1221 (Mass. 2008).
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Commonwealth v. Nardi, 893 N.E.2d 1221 (Mass. 2008). “G. L. c. 38, § 4 (“Upon notification of a [suspicious] death .”
McGonagle v. United States, 155 F. Supp. 3d 130 (D. Mass. 2016). “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 38 § 4 requires the chief medical examiner to "carefully inquire” into the circumstances of a death when notified in accordance with § 3.”
Amato v. Dist. Attorney for Cape & Islands Dist., 952 N.E.2d 400 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 2× “38, § 3(1) and (17), and G. L. c. 38, § 4, second par., the district attorney directed and controlled the subsequent investigation.”
Commonwealth v. Buckman, 957 N.E.2d 1089 (Mass. 2011). “They documented the officers’s first observations of the crime scene, as well as the appearance, condition, and position of the victim’s body before it was disturbed or moved, conformably with G. L. c. 38, § 4. Although there is no “murder scene exception” to the warrant…”
Macrelli v. Child.'s Hosp., 451 Mass. 690 (Mass. 2008). · cites it 3× “” Before trial, the plaintiffs moved in limine for a ruling whether G. L. c. 38, § 4, authorizes the OCME to retain organs after an autopsy.”
LeBlanc v. Commonwealth, 457 Mass. 94 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 2× “” G. L. c. 38, § 4. “If, as a result of such inquiry, the chief medical examiner or such designee is of the opinion that the death was due to violence or other unnatural means or to natural causes that require further investigation, he shall take jurisdiction.”
LeBlanc v. Commonwealth, 914 N.E.2d 937 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009). · cites it 2× “G. L. c. 38, § 4. “After investigation or examination by the [OCME], the body shall be released to the person with the proper legal authority to receive it, including the surviving spouse, the next of kin, or any friend of the deceased, who shall have priority *422 in the order…”
Mack v. Dist. Attorney for the Bristol Dist. (Mass. 2024). · cites it 2× “In coordination with the State police, the district attorney's office conducted a five-month long investigation into the decedent's death pursuant to G. L. c. 38, § 4, which mandates that, in "cases of unnatural or suspicious death .”
Cifizzari v. Town of Milford (D. Mass. 2025). · cites it 2× “It was standard protocol during CPAC investigations to 3 Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 38, § 4 provides that in the event of a death “due to violence or other unnatural means or to natural causes that require further investigation,” “the district attorney or his law enforcement…”
Echavarria v. Roach (D. Mass. 2021). “287 ¶ 234]; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 38, § 4 (“The district attorney or his law enforcement representative shall direct and control the investigation of the death and shall coordinate the investigation with the office of the chief medical examiner and the police department within…”
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