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Guide

After a death at home: what happens, step by step

When someone dies at home, the first hours follow a set order. Knowing it can make them a little easier.

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Step by step

The usual order

  1. Call 911

    Police and emergency medical services come first. Do not move the person or clean anything.

  2. The coroner may be called

    South Dakota law sends deaths by unnatural means, and deaths of people not under a clinician's care, to the county coroner.

  3. The body is released

    The coroner's office decides when the person can be moved. Until then, nothing at the scene should be moved.

  4. A funeral home takes over

    The funeral director who takes custody files a fact of death record, using details from the next of kin.

  5. The home is released

    When police and the coroner are finished, the home is yours again.

  6. Cleanup

    A biohazard cleanup company can then remove and clean what is affected. You do not need to be there.

Sources

The rules behind those steps

The coroner looks into many deaths at home

In South Dakota the county coroner investigates deaths by unnatural means and natural deaths of people who were not under a clinician's care. In those cases the body is not moved without the coroner's permission.

Source: SDCL 23-14-18 · SDCL 23-14-19

One coroner's office for both counties

The Minnehaha County Coroner/Medical Examiner is at 1305 W. 18th St., Sioux Falls, phone (605) 333-1730. The state's Dakota at Home directory lists the same office as serving Lincoln County.

Source: Minnehaha County · Dakota at Home

The funeral home files the first record

The funeral director who first takes custody of the body files a fact of death record, getting personal details from the next of kin.

Source: SDCL 34-25-25

Afterwards

Taking care of yourself

If the death was a suicide, or if you are struggling, call or text 988 (988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). It is open 24 hours a day and also helps people supporting someone else.

If the death was a homicide, ask the investigating officer about victim compensation. Who pays for cleanup explains it.

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