When someone passes away under unusual circumstances in Seattle or the surrounding suburbs, the paperwork doesn't just vanish into a black hole. It ends up on a very specific, very public document. Most people call it the king county decedent list, though its official title is a bit more bureaucratic. If you’ve ever found yourself refreshing a government page waiting for news about a missing neighbor or trying to verify a tragic headline you saw on X (formerly Twitter), you know how heavy that silence feels.
Basically, this list is the daily output of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office (KCMEO). It isn't a comprehensive list of every person who dies in the county—thankfully, most people pass away under the care of a physician who can sign a death certificate without an investigation. The list you’re looking for covers the "cases of concern." We're talking about sudden, violent, unexpected, or suspicious deaths.
It’s raw data. It’s clinical. And honestly, it can be a bit jarring if you aren't prepared for the level of detail it provides.
Why the King County Decedent List Isn’t What You Think
There’s a massive misconception that this list is a real-time "death ticker." It isn’t. You won't find a name on there five minutes after an accident on I-5. The KCMEO is strictly bound by RCW 68.50.300, a Washington state law that dictates when they can tell the public who died.
They won't release a name until the next-of-kin has been notified. If they can't find the family, they have to wait 48 hours after they've confirmed the identity before they can post it. This means if you’re looking for a name and don't see it, it doesn't mean the person is alive; it might just mean a weary investigator is still trying to track down a cousin in another state.
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What’s actually on the daily report?
When the list drops—usually on weekday afternoons—it includes a specific set of data points for each case:
- Case Number: The internal tracking ID (e.g., 26-00073).
- Name and Age: The basics of who the person was.
- City of Death: Where they were pronounced dead (often different from where they lived).
- Manner of Death: This is a big one. It’s categorized as Natural, Accident, Suicide, Homicide, or Undetermined.
- Cause of Death: The medical reason, like "Acute combined drug intoxication" or "Multiple blunt force injuries."
Sometimes, you’ll see "Pending" for the cause and manner. That’s because toxicology reports in Washington can take weeks, or even months, to come back from the lab.
How to Access the Data Without Getting Lost
You don’t have to file a formal Public Records Request (PRR) just to see the daily names. King County is actually pretty transparent about this. They use a system called GovDelivery to blast out these lists.
If you go to the King County Medical Examiner’s website, there’s a section for "Decedent lists by day." They archive these, so you can look back at the last few weeks. But honestly, the easiest way is to sign up for their email alerts. You’ll get a PDF in your inbox almost every afternoon. It’s a grim subscription, but for journalists, legal professionals, or concerned community members, it’s the primary source of truth.
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Don't expect to find residential addresses, though. The county specifically excludes the exact address if the death happened at a private residence to protect the privacy of the people still living there. You’ll just see "Residence" or "Incident Address" if it was a public place.
The Limits of Public Information
I’ve seen a lot of people get frustrated because they want the full autopsy report. Let’s be clear: the king county decedent list is the "what," not the "how" or "why."
Under Washington state law, autopsy reports are not public records. They are highly protected. Unless you are the legal next-of-kin, a representative of the estate, or a law enforcement officer working the case, you aren't getting that report.
If you are a family member, you have to go through a separate process. You’ll need to fill out a specific records request form and provide a copy of your photo ID. There’s usually a fee involved—around 2.5% for credit cards or a buck for e-checks—and it can take a while to process. For deaths that happened a long time ago (pre-1995), the records are tucked away in a secured location, so give them at least 10 business days to dig those out.
Actionable Steps for Using the List
If you are searching for information about a decedent in King County, follow this hierarchy to save yourself time:
- Check the GovDelivery Archive: Look for the specific date of death. If the death was recent, check the "Pending" cases in subsequent days, as they often re-post cases once the cause of death is finalized.
- Verify the Jurisdiction: If the death happened in a hospital in Seattle, but the injury happened in Pierce County, it might still show up on the King County list because the death was pronounced here. Always check where the "incident" occurred versus the "city of death."
- Search the Inquest Program: If the death involved law enforcement, King County has a separate "Reported Deaths" dashboard specifically for deaths in custody or during police interactions. This is often more detailed than the standard decedent list.
- Contact the Investigator: If you are family and need immediate status, the KCMEO medicolegal death investigation line is available 24/7 at 206-731-3232 (ext. 5). Just know they won't give out details over the phone to just anyone.
Navigating the aftermath of a death is messy and confusing. The decedent list provides a small window of clarity in that process, ensuring that the public has access to the basic facts of how people are dying in our community without compromising the dignity of the families involved. It’s a tool for transparency, but it requires a bit of patience to use correctly.