A 32-year-old man suffers a heart attack at the hospital and dies a week later. The hospital finds traces of amphetamine (also known as speed) in the man's urine and concludes that the man's heart attack was due to amphetamine abuse. The man's mother claims that he would never use illegal drugs. Dr. G must find out whether drug abuse actually played a role in the man's death.Dr. G and field investigators explain how car wreck fatalities are processed at the scene and in the morgue, and how common mistakes that cause vehicle related fatalities can be avoided.A hotel manager is found dead at the bottom of the stairs of his living quarters. At first it appears that the man accidentally fell, but wounds are found that could be consistent with an assault. Adding to the suspicion of investigators, the man was not popular in town. With possible evidence and motive, Dr. G must determine whether foul play was involved in the man's death.

Dark Secrets

Jan Garavaglia

Deadly Destination

Ticking Time Bomb

A 12-year-old girl collapses and dies at an Orlando water park. With the case thrust into the national media, Dr. G is under pressure to determine if the girl’s death had anything to do with the nature of the rides at the amusement parks she visited.A 45-year-old widow is found dead and nude next to her ATV at her ranch outside of Orlando. The woman was known to have been a heavy drinker, and foul play is a possibility. Dr. G must get to the bottom of this woman’s unexplained death.

A Fatal Mistake

A 45-year-old construction foreman is found dead and decomposing in his van. Earlier in the week, the man had been hit in the head by a board at work. In addition to this, the man owed friends money and was reportedly a methamphetamine user. With a head injury, foul play, and drug overdose as possible culprits, Dr. G must take this case to the morgue’s decomposition room.

A homeless man is found dead and bloody in the back of his car. While removing the body, one of the medical investigators rips his glove and gets the dead man’s blood on an open cut. Not only must Dr. G find the cause of death, she must also find out whether her medical investigator is at risk of contracting a blood borne illness.

A 30-year-old woman is found dead and bruised in a drainage ditch. The woman was a recovering heroin addict, and the area she was found in was known to be popular spot for drug users. Dr. G must find out if the woman fell victim to foul play.

Deadly Consequences

A 21-year-old man arrives at his friends’ house, apparently drunk, and spends the night on the couch. The man is found dead the next morning. The man had attempted suicide multiple times in the past, and was known to abuse alcohol and Xanax. Dr. G must determine whether the man killed himself, accidentally died from a deadly combination of drugs, or died from some other cause.A hotel manager is found dead at the bottom of the stairs of his living quarters. At first it appears that the man accidentally fell, but wounds are found that could be consistent with an assault. Adding to the suspicion of investigators, the man was not popular in town. With possible evidence and motive, Dr. G must determine whether foul play was involved in the man’s death.Also, Dr. G accepts a marriage proposal from her old med-school sweetheart.

Deadly Arrest

A 45-year-old man with full blown AIDS collapses and dies in a bar a week after being treated at the hospital for a throat infection. In addition to medical problems, the man was known to abuse drugs and alcohol. Dr. G must do an autopsy to find the cause of death, and to see if the hospital missed key diagnosis that could have saved the man’s life.A 40-year-old man with kidney disease is found dead at home in a pool of blood with his wrist slashed. The case appears to be a suicide at first, but Dr. G’s examination of the wound reveals that it is a ruptured dialysis fistula.Dr. G prepares for her upcoming wedding.

On the Run

A 30-year-old man dies after being subdued by police. The man was known to abuse drugs and had been hinting at suicide. Dr. G must do an autopsy to determine whether or not the man’s death was the result of police brutality.An 18-year-old woman dies a week after having what seems to be a miscarriage. Dr. G must determine whether the woman’s death was a result of complications from the miscarriage, and if the hospital missed a key diagnosis that could have saved the woman’s life.Also, Dr. G’s wedding day finally arrives.

Old Wounds Run Deep

A 32-year-old man dies in a group home for mentally challenged adults on Thanksgiving. The man had a history of seizures. With no obvious clues, Dr. G must conduct an autopsy to rule out foul play and determine what caused the man’s untimely death.A burning car is found on the side of the road in which a body has been incinerated. The car was registered to an Irish immigrant whose visa was about to expire. With only a charred torso to work with, Dr. G must identify the victim and determine whether or not foul play was involved.

A Deadly Business

A 92-year-old man with dementia is discovered dead in his back yard the morning after an ice storm. His front door is standing open and the man has several severe cuts and bruises. Dr. G must determine whether the man fell off his patio or if he was attacked.A 55-year-old man paraplegic man dies at home a week after leaving the hospital. The man has severely infected bedsores, which are a complication of his paralysis. Because the man’s paralysis was the result of a gunshot he received in his 20’s, his death will be considered a homicide if it resulted from the bedsores. Dr. G must find out whether his death was a complication of his paralysis and therefore a homicide, or the result of natural causes.

Dangerous Speeds

Dr. G's first case as a medical examiner is profiled. In 1988 when Dr. G began working in Jacksonville, Florida, numerous decomposing bodies were found in a funeral home. Investigators believed that the funeral home director had neglected to bury bodies that he had been paid to bury. Investigators also suspected that he had been burying multiple bodies in the single coffins. After Dr. G opened four exhumed coffins and confirmed that multiple bodies had indeed been stuffed into single coffins, she had to identify the bodies as bodies the funeral director had been paid to bury and find evidence that he had treated the bodies improperly.A 56-year-old man dies suddenly and unexpectedly at home, and the hospital does not know the cause of death. The man suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder due to serving in the Vietnam war. The man had also been experiencing chest pains, which the hospital had dismissed as symptoms of panic attacks. Dr. G must do an autopsy to find out if the hospital missed a key diagnosis that could have saved the man's life.

A 30-year-old man collapses and dies after crashing his car into a fence. He was combative with paramedics just prior to passing out, indicating a head injury. However, Dr. G’s internal examination indicates massive internal bleeding in the abdomen, but she cannot find any trauma. Dr. G must find the cause of the bleeding, and what caused the man to crash.A 65-year-old man is found naked and decomposing at the bottom of the stairs by his landlady in his apartment. The most likely causes of death are injury and natural causes, but the man has no medical history to work with. Dr. G must start the autopsy with a blank slate.

A 29-year-old diabetic man is found dead on his couch after a night of drinking. The man often neglected his diabetes and did not like to take care of himself. Dr. G must find out whether alcohol or diabetes played a role in the man’s death.A 78-year old man is found decomposing and covered by a tarp in the house he shared with his stepson. The stepson had fled the scene when police searched the house, and drug paraphernalia was found. With many possible scenarios including neglect and foul play, Dr. G must take this case into the decomposition room to find the answer.

An 81-year-old man is found dead and decomposing in his apartment. It appears to be a natural death due to the man's age and deteriorating health, but the family discovers that man's car is missing from the garage. When the car turns up wrecked in wrecker yard, Dr. G must do an autopsy to see if the man died from injuries sustained in a car accident.A 73-year-old man from England collapses during breakfast while visiting his family in Orlando. The man's medical records are not readily available since he was traveling from abroad, and Dr. G's only lead is that the man had been experiencing abdominal pain the previous day.

Dr. G: Medical Examiner documents cases handled by deputy chief medical examiner Dr. Jan C. Garavaglia (aka Dr. G) of Florida's District Nine Medical Examiner's Office. Each episode features two or three cases Dr. G has handled in the Orlando area, and also in Bexar County, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida where she was previously employed. Some portions of the show have been dramatized and some names have been changed to protect the dignity of individuals and their families.

Dark Secrets

Seasons8

Season 3 Episodes12

Cast1

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