Kentucky's Governor Breaks Ground on Northern Kentucky Crime Lab and Medical Examiner’s Office

Will expand access for Kentuckians seeking justice and solace

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joined public safety and higher education leaders to break ground on the new medical examiner’s office and Kentucky State Police (KSP) crime lab at Northern Kentucky University.

“We’re continuing to invest in resources that make our communities safer and deliver justice for Kentuckians,” Gov. Beshear said. “This new facility will help provide closure to families while easing the burden on law enforcement and allowing for quicker criminal investigations.”

During the 2024 legislative session, the Governor secured $21 million in critical funding on behalf of Northern Kentucky University (NKU) to renovate the 19,073-square-foot, former Highland Heights Civic Center, which has been vacant since 2008, into a state-of-the-art medical examiner’s office and crime lab. The building is expected to be ready for occupancy in early 2028 and will meet the standards of the National Association of Medical Examiners.

“Northern Kentucky University is proud to partner with the Commonwealth on a project that will make a meaningful difference for families and law enforcement agencies across our region,” said NKU President Cady Short-Thompson. “Transforming this long-vacant facility into a vital public resource reflects NKU's deep commitment to serving Northern Kentucky and supporting the needs of our growing region. I am especially eager to see how our expert faculty and bright students can engage in research together with these agencies on our campus.”

“This is an excellent example of what can happen when Northern Kentucky comes together around a shared priority,” said Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer. “We are taking an existing building and giving it new life while creating a resource that will serve our families, law enforcement officers and the entire region for years to come. The partnership with NKU also gives us an opportunity to expose students to real-world applications and inspire the next generation of professionals in these fields.”

The former Northern Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office closed in March 2018. Without this office, cases from Northern Kentucky have been redirected throughout the state, increasing caseloads on existing regional medical examiners’ offices.

Gov. Beshear recognized the impact a fully staffed and equipped medical examiner’s office and crime lab have on helping Kentuckians in what is often their time of greatest need. That’s why, in 2021, the Beshear administration achieved bipartisan support for reopening an office in Northern Kentucky through House Bill 382, which dedicated $1.8 million in one-time funds for equipment necessary to reopen this office and which Gov. Beshear signed in April 2021.

Since that time, the administration has been working to lease a facility that can meet the complex requirements of operating as a medical examiner’s office. Upon NKU discussing with the Beshear administration the possibility of renovating the vacant civic center, it was evaluated and determined that this new location will allow Kentuckians to more quickly receive autopsy results and obtain justice for victims of crime.

The Northern Kentucky Regional Medical Examiner’s Office will operate year-round and anticipates performing approximately 500 examinations annually. For grieving families in the region, it will reduce the need to transport their deceased loved ones 100 miles or more to another regional office for examination and back home before a funeral and burial, saving families time and money. Law enforcement, coroners and other investigators will also save associated expenses and resources.

“The mission of the Office of the State Medical Examiner is to provide closure to families while supporting our law enforcement partners across the commonwealth,” Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Ralston said. “This new facility means we will be able to resume operations in the region, greatly reducing the burden on all those involved.”

The Office of the Medical Examiner assists Kentucky coroners and law enforcement agencies in all aspects of death investigation. Central to the role of the office is the performance of the forensic autopsy to aid in the determination of cause and manner of death of individuals and identification of the deceased. Oftentimes, law enforcement, who are required to attend and observe post-mortem examinations, will go straight from the medical examiner’s office with evidence obtained during an autopsy – like fingerprints, blood, urine, hair follicles, etc. – and transport it to the state crime lab.

To make this process quicker and more efficient, the Kentucky State Police (KSP) will be occupying space in the renovated facility to operate an expanded crime lab. KSP is committed to public safety and ensuring that victims and survivors of crime receive the justice and closure they deserve. Part of that commitment is to ensure that evidence in criminal cases is tested thoroughly and efficiently at the forensic laboratories with scientific integrity and the highest quality.

KSP currently operates six laboratory locations, with more than 180 employees. Once the NKU location is operational, the crime lab currently in Cold Springs will relocate to this new facility.  

The current Northern Laboratory receives more than 3,000 evidence submissions each year, highlighting the significant demand for forensic services across the region. Kenton County ranks third-highest statewide for total submissions sent annually to the KSP Forensic Laboratory system, highlighting the need for expanded operations in the region.

The new Northern Kentucky facility will enhance KSP’s ability to meet this growing demand, provide space for additional personnel, and offer modern resources designed to support the laboratory’s work.

“This expanded facility will help KSP continue to provide timely, accurate and high-quality forensic services to law enforcement agencies and the people of Kentucky,” said KSP Lt. Col. Larry Newton. “Together with our local law enforcement partners, our commonwealth is safer, and by completing more criminal investigations, we can ensure justice for more Kentuckians.”

The Beshear-Coleman administration’s top priority is the safety of all Kentuckians. The Governor’s public safety actions are creating safer communities and a better Kentucky.

In January, thanks to collaborative work from KSP and the Office of the State Medical Examiner, the state police arrested an individual in connection with a cold case investigation dating back to 1991.

In May, Gov. Beshear announced that the Kentucky State Police received more than $172,000 in federal grant funding to continue the commonwealth’s ongoing work to provide justice to survivors and victims of sexual offenses in the commonwealth through the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). KSP’s SAKI team, created by the Governor in 2021, works to leverage existing resources to investigate and identify sexual offenders. The team works with victims, law enforcement partners, prosecutors and community partners to provide enhanced investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases.

The SAKI Team’s work regularly leads to arrests and convictions in cold cases, including the 2025 conviction of an individual in a 20-year-old unsolved sexual assault case and the June 2026 arrest of a Texas man in a 36-year-old sexual assault investigation.

The 2025 Crime in Kentucky Report, released in June, shows that, from 2024 to 2025, there was an overall decrease of 8.14% in reports of serious crime.

For four straight years, overdose deaths have decreased in Kentucky. In 2025, the commonwealth saw 22.9% fewer overdose deaths than the year prior.

For more about the Beshear-Coleman administration’s work to build a safer New Kentucky Home, click here.

More Information
The mission of the Office of the State Medical Examiner is to serve all Kentuckians by providing accurate, thorough and efficient medicolegal investigations of death, thereby ensuring justice and providing solace, comfort and protection to the living. The office also addresses public health impacts by identifying diseases and hazards that potentially could put Kentuckians at risk.

For more information about KSP’s commitment to creating a better Kentucky by making the commonwealth’s streets safer, communities stronger and the nation more secure by providing exceptional law enforcement, click here.

To apply to join Team Kentucky at the new Northern Kentucky medical examiner and crime lab, click here.

NKU is an entrepreneurial state university of about 15,000 students on a thriving suburban campus nestled between Highland Heights, Kentucky, and bustling downtown Cincinnati. Ranked in the top 75 out of 500 universities nationwide by The Wall Street Journal for exceptional value, NKU is a regionally engaged university committed to delivering an innovative, student-centered education. The university empowers its graduates to have fulfilling careers and meaningful lives while contributing to the economic, civic and social vitality of the region. Learn more at nku.edu.