Office of the Chief Medical Examiner probe sparked by dropped murder charge to begin in coming weeks

An outside medical examiner has been brought in to review the Newfoundland and Labrador Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, after key evidence was lost in an infant Labrador murder case. 

• Brain that was evidence in Labrador infant death case likely thrown out with medical waste, docs show

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The province released the terms of reference for an already announced external review of the office Tuesday.

Dr. Matthew Bowes, who has been the Chief Medical Examiner in Nova Scotia since 2006, has been recruited to conduct the review that was sparked by lost evidence in the Matthew Rich homicide investigation.

"[Bowes] actually did the same type of review in Nova Scotia so he has previous experience," Justice and Public Safety Minister Andrew Parsons said in a news conference. 

Rich, a four-month-old from Sheshatshiu, died on Oct. 15, 2013, after he was taken to hospital in Happy Valley-Goose Bay with a serious head injury. 

Almost a month later, the RCMP laid a charge of second-degree murder against the baby's father, Thomas George Michel, 24.

However, that charge was withdrawn in December 2015 because a key piece of evidence — the baby's brain and dura — had gone missing while in the care of the OCME.

A CBC News investigation in January revealed the evidence was likely thrown out with other medical waste. 

Days later, Parsons promised to launch an external review of the office, which is located at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's. 

"It's not about the blame side, obviously you want to know that happened but I'm more concerned about how do we prevent this going forward."

The review will look at the circumstances surrounding the Rich case as well as the OCME's infrastructure, resources, policies and procedures. 

Parsons said issues surrounding the condition of the office were raised prior to the Rich case. 

"We've always been told there were environmental concerns, operational concerns," Parsons said.

"But [the Rich] case, no doubt, was a huge factor in making sure this review happened."

Parsons said concerns at the OCME have always been known but the dropped murder charge was the final push for the review to take place. 

Bowes will begin his work in the coming weeks, and it's expected the review will take several months to complete.