Nueces County medical examiner arrested
Dr. Shaker was under investigation for allegedly tampering or falsifying a government record, unauthorized practice of medicine, and abuse of a corpse.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nueces County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Adel Shaker has been arrested, officials with the Nueces County District Attorney’s Office said. He was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon.
Officials said Shaker was arrested on warrants for 17 separate counts — 15 counts of prohibited practice by a physician, one count of unprofessional or dishonorable conduct by a physician, and one count of failure to delegate general authority.
Soon after, it was confirmed that Shaker would be leaving his position with the County on Oct. 31.
Additional warrants were also filed for Sandra Lyden, the former assistant medical examiner who was fired by Shaker back in January for practicing without a license. Lyden was later arrested on charges of tampering with government records with the intent to defraud or harm another person, a state jail felony.
On Tuesday, officials said Lyden now faces additional charges — 15 counts of practicing medicine without a license, and six counts of tampering with government documents.
3News confirmed in early February that Shaker himself has been under investigation by Texas Rangers and the Nueces County District Attorney’s Office for a number of potential criminal charges.
RELATED: Nueces County’s chief medical examiner under criminal investigation
A local mom recently spoke out about the fallout from the investigation at the Nueces County ME’s Office.
Maria Krauskopf went in front of Nueces County Commissioners saying she still doesn’t know the official cause of her son’s death.
She told commissioners that her son Elliott passed away in December of 2021, and was one of the first people that received an autopsy by Lyden.
But she didn’t learn that information through officials, she discovered it through hearsay.
“Here today to ask why I was not notified or for that matter, I don’t know if the other 32 families were not notified that their loved ones were autopsied by Lyden,” Krauskopf said.
RELATED: Mother raises concerns following medical examiners office investigation, still waiting on son’s final autopsy report
There’s also a claim that both Lyden and Shaker signed off on a botched autopsy.
“I still don’t know the cause of my son’s death and even if, and when I do get the final report I will always have doubt and mistrust as to the credibility of the report,” Krauskopf said. “How can we truly know Lyden performed all of these autopsies correctly?”
This is a developing story. Stay with 3NEWS for updates.
RELATED: Former Nueces County assistant medical examiner arrested for tampering with government records
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