Top medical examiner retires: De Alwis steps down after eight-year stint as head of Honolulu office

Nov 01, 2009 (The Honolulu Advertiser - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- XRX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Dr. Kanthi De Alwis, the city's chief medical examiner since 2001, retired Friday after more than 25 years of service with the medical examiner's office.

During her career, De Alwis performed more than 7,000 autopsies and testified at more than 700 criminal and civil trials. Some of her more high-profile cases included the 1999 Xerox murders and the Sacred Falls rockslide that killed eight people. She also served as a consultant in the Dana Ireland murder case on the Big Island.

De Alwis, 56, said she also "opened the doors" to her office by reaching out to the community through public appearances and programs. Among them is a morgue tour program that she launched in 2002 with the intention of preventing deaths by educating teenage students.

She said she also was able to increase the number of investigators from six to nine and obtain new equipment for the department.

De Alwis said she could have retired earlier, but wanted to see her department through a national accreditation inspection last summer. She said her office received a five-year accreditation, despite having one of the lowest per-capita budgets in the nation.

"I feel like I've been able to meet all these objectives that I had for both this department and community, so it's time for myself now," she said.

De Alwis moved to Hawaii from her native Sri Lanka in 1979 and completed her residency training in surgical and clinical pathology at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. She began her medical career in obstetrics and gynecology, but said she switched to forensic pathology so she could spend more time with her son.

She joined the medical examiner's office in 1984 and rose up the ranks to first deputy in 1990. In 2001, then-Mayor Jeremy Harris named her chief medical examiner and she was reappointed to the position in 2005 by Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

"Dr. Kanthi has devoted more than 25 years to serving the people of Honolulu," Hannemann said in a statement. "She's leaving the medical examiner's office in great shape, as evidenced by it recently attaining national accreditation."

De Alwis' tenure has not been without controversy, however. She was accused by a former employee of mismanagement, a charge that De Alwis has denied.

She said that the accusations had nothing to do with her retiring.

De Alwis said she will remain in Hawaii and do consulting work. Looking back, she said she was proud of her accomplishments as head of the coroner's office.

"It was extremely rewarding because I felt that I was able to give a voice to the voiceless," she said. "I was able to be a big part in bringing justice to our community. I was able to help the grieving families through their process by giving them answers to their questions because I always believed that when families go through their grieving, if they have unanswered questions, it takes longer."

Dr. William Goodhue, first deputy medical examiner, will serve as interim chief until a successor to De Alwis can be found.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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