LA County Welcomes a New 'Coroner to the Stars'

By Patch Staff

The Los Angeles County Coroner, which serves South Gate and Lynwood, is welcoming a chief forensic pathologist, it was announced recently.

Dr. Mark Fajardo, Riverside County's chief forensic pathologist will become Los Angeles' new chief medical examiner- coroner, or the 'coroner to the stars,' as some refer to the position, according to Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s website.

The supervisor formally announced the L.A. Board of Supervisors appointment of Fajardo on July 9.  Fajardo takes over for Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, who is retiring after more than 21 years in the position.

Fajardo has been Riverside County's chief forensic pathologist for 13 years, overseeing more than 1,300 autopsies annually, including that of former Los Angeles Police Department Officer turned alleged killer Christopher Dorner, according to Yaroslavsky's website.

He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of pathology, according to L.A. county documents.

In an interview for the website, Fajardo said he wasn't accustomed to dealing with celebrity cases, but the rest of the job should be similar to the work he does now.

"This is as far removed as you can get from what most people think of as working as a doctor," Fajardo said.

"But for me, every case is a puzzle I get to solve, hopefully in a way that gives their families closure. I speak for the dead. I try to answer the questions about how they lost their lives."

Fajardo will be paid $275,000 annually and start his new job in August, according to county documents.   He'll also get a relocation allotment of $25,000 to move out of Riverside County, closer to the new job.

Due to the long-standing history between the Los Angeles coroner and celebrity deaths, the position has been dubbed the 'coroner to the stars.'

It's not yet clear who will take over Fajardo's role in Riverside County, and calls for comment Wednesday weren't immediately returned.

– City News Service contributed to this report