WILLIAMSPORT -- The Lycoming County coroner has had enough. With the all the overdoses he's seen, the coroner thinks heroin dealers should be considered murderers.
"Calling these accidental deaths is just kind of downplaying the severity of these issues," said Charles Kiessling.
After years of watching a steady increase of drug overdoses in Lycoming County, Coroner Charles Kiessling is taking a stand. He is now ruling drug deaths caused by heroin overdoses homicide.
"It's a homicide. Somebody killed this person by their selling drugs or prescribing drugs, if it's a physician who is overly prescribing," Kiessling said.
Last year, the county had nine heroin-related deaths. This year Kiessling has already ruled one heroin overdose homicide. His office is waiting on toxicology reports to determine four other cases.
"We're losing lives. We're losing a lot of young people right now because of this drug, because of this.”
Agent Raymond Kontz investigates dozens of drug cases a year in Williamsport. He says some could be ruled homicide.
"We can't rule everything as a homicide because sometimes the situation does not rise to that level," said Kontz.
Investigators tell us just because the coroner rules a death homicide does not mean there will ever be criminal charges filed. That's left up to prosecutors.
"Prosecutors and law enforcement is going to continue investigating these cases the same way we always have,” said Lycoming County District Attorney Eric Linhardt.
Whether the coroner rules a death accidental or homicide, district attorney Eric Linhardt's office still faces the same challenges in court.
"Every overdose death is a criminal investigation and that has not changed, and our decision as to whether or we are in position to charge a drug delivery resulting in death has not changed," said Linhardt.
According to investigators, there have been cases in the past when a drug dealer has been charged in the death of someone who overdoses. The coroner says the big reason he decided to rule these drug deaths homicide is to help bring awareness to the epidemic.