Coroner Case Statistics

More than 50% of all deaths in Sacramento County are reportable Coroner's Office cases as required by the Government Code and Health and Safety Code.

All reported cases involve a Deputy Coroner investigative component and approximately 20% require an autopsy, external body review, or medical record evaluation by the Coroner's Office to determine the cause of death.

There are five classifications for the manner of death in Coroner cases:

Accident - Accidental death, including drowning, accidental overdose, falls, motor vehicle accidents, etc.
Natural - Any natural disease process, including, but not limited to, heart disease, SIDS, chronic ethanol abuse, etc.
Suicide - Action taken by someone to end their own life. It must be an overt action versus a habitual action.
Homicide - When a person is killed by one or more persons. This is different than "murder". Murder is the "unlawful" taking of a human life by another. For example, if a police officer kills someone in the line of duty, it is a homicide but it is not necessarily a murder. All murders are homicides, but all homicides are not murders.
Undetermined - Usually an interim classification, indicating a level of uncertainty about the circumstances surrounding a death, which is usually changed once the results of the autopsy are received. Sometimes, however, the cause of death and/or the circumstances of the death cannot be fully determined, in which case, the classification remains undetermined.

Coroner Cases by Manner of Death 2010-2023

Year	Accident	Homicide	Natural	Suicide	Undetermined	Total
Totals	11,726	1,417	7,254	2,786	1,072	24,255
2010	542	91	461	184	64	1,342
2011	524	91	495	180	72	1,362
2012	592	102	473	189	71	1,427
2013	606	85	485	221	88	1,485
2014	656	101	451	218	72	1,498
2015	760	110	493	195	88	1,646
2016	751	108	437	191	94	1,581
2017	850	91	475	213	82	1,711
2018	794	91	480	216	65	1,646
2019	924	92	499	212	77	1,804
2020	1,077	123	564	187	65	2,016
2021	1,185	113	667	199	100	2,264
2022	1,193	124	668	181	62	2,228
2023	1,272	95	606	200	72	2,245

Coroner Cases by Manner of Death 1998-2009

Year	Accident	Homicide	Natural	Suicide	Undetermined	Total
Totals	5,756	1,180	7,529	1,929	925	17,319
1998	357	86	608	128	80	1,259
1999	337	87	614	144	58	1,240
2000	375	84	603	134	79	1,275
2001	431	95	631	153	124	1,434
2002	441	92	625	166	72	1,396
2003	468	98	738	168	74	1,546
2004	535	111	640	174	64	1,524
2005	569	123	642	176	78	1,588
2006	572	120	674	173	77	1,616
2007	558	100	577	166	64	1,465
2008	546	108	590	188	98	1,530
2009	567	76	587	159	57	1,446