N.M. Stat. » N.M. Stat. / Chapter 24 / Article 11
New Mexico Statutes

N.M. Stat. § 24-11-5 (2026)

Reports of violent death.

✓ current as of May 2026
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When any person comes to a sudden, violent or untimely death or is found dead and
the cause of death is unknown, anyone who becomes aware of the death shall report it
immediately to law enforcement authorities or the office of the state or district medical
investigator. The public official so notified, shall in turn notify either, or both, the
appropriate law enforcement authorities or the office of the state or district medical
investigator. The state or district medical investigator, or a deputy medical investigator
under his direction, shall, without delay, view and take legal custody of the body.

History: 1953 Comp., § 15-43-44, enacted by Laws 1961, ch. 91, § 2; 1971, ch. 112, §
4; 1973, ch. 286, § 4; 1975, ch. 7, § 1.

                                      ANNOTATIONS

Cross references. — For failure to report death, see 24-11-10 NMSA 1978.
Autopsy reports are testimonial. — Autopsy reports regarding individuals who
suffered a violent death are testimonial for purposes of confrontation clause analysis,
because medical examiners are required by 24-11-8 NMSA 1978 to report their findings
to the district attorney. State v. Navarette, 2013-NMSC-003, 294 P.3d 435.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 2011–2013 · leading case: State v. Navarette, 2013 NMSC 3 (N.M. 2013).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State v. Navarette, 2013 NMSC 3 (N.M. 2013). · cites it 4× “NMSA 1978, § 24-11-5 (1975). Medical examiners are obligated by statute to report their findings directly to the district attorney in all cases they have investigated.”
State v. Jaramillo, 2012 NMCA 29 (N.M. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “NMSA 1978, § 24-11-5 (1975). Medical examiners are obligated by statute to report their findings directly to the district attorney in all cases they have investigated.”
State v. Jaramillo, 2012 NMCA 029 (N.M. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “NMSA 1978, § 24-11-5 (1975). Medical examiners are obligated by statute to report their findings directly to the district attorney in all cases they have investigated.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.