Shawn Parcells, at one time a coroner for Wabaunsee County, was convicted Thursday on six counts related to providing autopsies illegally in the county.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says the 42-year-old Parcells was convicted on three counts of felony theft and three more of misdemeanor criminal desecration after a three-day trial in Alma. Schmidt says the jury ruled Parcells unlawfully received money from Wabaunsee County to perform autopsies in three cases dating back to 2014 and 2015. Parcells performed the autopsies without being a pathologist or having one present, which is a violation of state law.
Sentencing will be Jan. 10, but Parcells’ legal issues aren’t over. Schmidt has filed a civil complaint in Shawnee County District Court for 14 alleged violations of the Kansas False Claims Act and other violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act involving over 80 customers. The lawsuit alleges Parcells contracted with Wabaunsee County to conduct coroner-ordered autopsies and then failed to finish them in compliance with state law. Parcells is also accused of conducting autopsies without a licensed pathologist either present or supervising those cases.
Parcells has also been banned by court order from performing autopsies until the civil case is adjudicated.
