7 Investigates: Grieving family shocked to hear son was buried without a brain - Boston News, Weather, Sports

TOPSFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) – For a Topsfield family, grief over the loss of their son was compounded by a series of devastating discoveries: Their loved one was buried without his brain after an unexpected autopsy.

Kevin Magee died on October 27, 2023 after suffering a traumatic brain injury and other health effects from a life-changing car accident 30 years earlier in 1993, when he was 17 years old.

In the days after Kevin’s death, his mother, Gail Magee, was making arrangements for her late son when she learned his remains were not at the funeral home. Instead, the medical examiner had retrieved the remains for an autopsy that had been ordered.

By the time Gail Magee heard the news from the funeral home director, the autopsy had already been done.

“I don’t know why they didn’t call me. They had my name, they had my phone number, we are Kevin’s legal guardians,” she said.

In Massachusetts, the state does not require permission to conduct an autopsy. Gail Magee said she was confused why they even did one on her son since his accident happened 30 years before his death.

“I felt for 30 years that he suffered so much and when he finally goes, just let him rest in peace. I could understand that if they found him on the side of the road there would be a reason to do an autopsy. There was no reason to perform an autopsy on Kevin,” Magee said.

She believes misinformation and lack of communication led to the autopsy. The Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) declined to comment on the autopsy or who ordered it.

Months later, Gail Magee received another surprise.

She received the autopsy results at the end of January 2024. Her medical background as a nurse led her to ask the medical examiner if all of Kevin’s body parts had been returned, especially his brain. At that time, months after he was buried, Gail was told that her son’s brain was still in the medical examiner’s office.

‘They slaughtered him. He couldn’t even rest in peace after thirty years. And his brain, which is the entire soul of your being, to cut it up and think it was in a jar in the medical examiner’s office, and I wouldn’t have even known about it,” she said.

Gail Magee said she was told Kevin’s brain was being withheld for additional testing.

“If they are keeping your loved one’s body parts, especially your child’s, they should call you and tell you that,” Magee said. “It’s just unfathomable. It is unbelievable that they would do this and it is simply wrong that they are doing business this way.”

Although no consent is required for the state to conduct an autopsy, the medical examiner’s office must notify the person receiving the body if any organs are retained. This information is provided in a letter the state provides to the funeral home handling the services. The funeral home then passes the letter on to family members.

“It’s very vague. We are the pass-off person. A lot of times that’s given to the family, whether they read it, it’s not necessarily our responsibility to absorb it at the time,” said funeral home owner Barbra Kazmierczak. “It’s a difficult time when they get that letter and there’s a lot going on in their minds and a letter from the OCME is probably not their priority.”

This letter was delivered to the funeral home that arranged Kevin’s services.

7 Researchers have received a copy of that letter. The letter is not personalized with individual details for families, nor does it describe the details of what, if any, biological samples have been retained.

The letter states: “A full internal examination (autopsy) may be required” and “the physician may take and store biological samples.” The letter goes on to say that materials will be “discarded after a matter of time,” but families can request the items be released.

“I think communication is limited for whatever reason and I think there should be more open lines of communication,” Kazmierczak said of OCME. “A letter covers you, but is not always read and interpreted correctly.”

Gail Magee believes because of the state’s vague communications, she never would have known her son’s brain was being restrained if she hadn’t asked.

“I don’t think most people have any idea this is happening,” she said.

Research found that the state removed and retained 685 brains between 2021 and 2024. Fifteen of these have been returned to their families.

“I think it’s a big breach. I think most people would do that just the same if you’re talking about their heart or their brain,” said George Annas, director of the Center for Health Law, Ethics and Human Rights at Boston University. “It shouldn’t happen. There is no reason why this should happen.”

Annas said the letter to Massachusetts families lacks transparency and places an unfair burden on grieving families to discover details.

“A letter is not enough,” he said. “Families should be no different in ensuring that all parts of their loved one’s body are returned to the medical examiner.”

The Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Officer said in a statement that it cannot comment on specific cases but is committed to “providing the highest level of forensic pathology and death investigation services, including ensuring the effective and efficient communication of vital information through established protocols and procedures.”

Annas suggests that improvements in OCME’s communications could include the office taking the time to send families an individualized email or phone call.

“It should be the medical examiner’s job to make sure the family knows what’s going on,” Annas said. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

The Magees managed to get Kevin’s brain back and buried it at his grave, but they are still looking for changes.

“I just want to be accountable. I want to know that they have made some changes so that this doesn’t happen to other people. They just need to be more transparent with their practices and policies,” said Gail Magee.

For the Magee family, change won’t erase the trauma they faced while grieving Kevin’s passing – a child who loved to play hockey, always active with a smile on his face – but Gail believes changes to the system will create a future family can save even more heartbreak. .

“It won’t bring me any comfort, it won’t change what happened, but I just feel like the public needs to know so they can maybe ask questions and know that this is going on, and it can’t help anyone else to have the same pain. what we went through,” Magee said.

The Magees encourage people whose family members are undergoing an autopsy to ask the medical examiner questions, including why the autopsy was performed, whether anything was taken and what will be done with it.

7 Maren Halpin of New contributed to this report.