Medical Examiner's Lawsuit Against Funeral Directors to Move Forward

Pensacola, FL (Newsradio 92.3) -- District 1 Medical Examiner Diana Oleske's lawsuit against two local funeral home directors is moving forward. Judge Jan Shackelford denied the latest motion to dismiss the lawsuit last month. Oleske filed the lawsuit in June of 2023 after three area funeral home directors wrote letters to the Escambia Board of Commissioners making accusations of bodies being butchered and paperwork problems. Oleske denied the allegations and said they were politically and financially motivated because they didn't want the medical examiner's office to move to Santa Rosa County. One of the funeral directors later recanted their statements -- Oleske is suing the other two, Jerald Mitchell and Richard Trahan for libel, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy. In the lawsuit, Oleske accuses commissioner Steven Barry of being a "co-conspirator" in the effort to undermine her as medical examiner.