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Ex–LA County Medical Examiner Investigator Pleads No Contest to Theft From the Dead

The plea signals a serious breach of trust in how officials handle the personal effects of people who have died.

Overview

  • Adrian Muñoz, 36, who worked for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office, entered a no-contest plea Friday to grand theft and petty theft.
  • Prosecutors say he faces sentencing on June 5 with a planned term of six months in county jail and two years of formal probation.
  • Surveillance video from a Jan. 3, 2023 warehouse death investigation showed Muñoz remove a gold crucifix necklace from a deceased worker and place it in his medical bag without logging it.
  • During a search of his desk, investigators found rare antique coins and a receipt tied to a Nov. 12, 2022 death case that Muñoz had handled, according to the district attorney’s office.
  • The plea deal requires restitution to the victims’ families and a bar from law enforcement roles in California, as the district attorney condemned the conduct as stealing from the dead.