Office of the Medical Examiner

Forensic Toxicology Laboratory

Jeanne M. Beno, Ph.D., Chief Toxicologist
Donna R. Nemeth, M.S., Laboratory Supervisor

Heroin/fentanyl deaths investigated by the Monroe County Medical Examiners

Office in 2015.
Prepared by: Jeanne M. Beno, Ph.D., Chief Toxicologist 2/26/2016
Note: the following data is preliminary and subject to change once all of the Medical
Examiners Office case investigations have been finalized.
Based on analytical data from the Monroe County Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, the Monroe
County Medical Examiners Office investigated 84 accidental deaths related to the use of heroin
and/or non-pharmaceutical fentanyl (sold on the street as heroin or cocaine) in 2015 (Table 1).
Sixty nine of those deaths occurred in Monroe County, while 15 occurred in surrounding
counties that contract for autopsy services with the Medical Examiners Office (Table 2). While
fentanyl is usually encountered as a substitute for heroin in drugs sold on the street, 2015 was
noteworthy for a series of 6 deaths in a one week period in March in which a drug sold as
cocaine actually contained heroin.
Table 1
Total #
Deaths

Year
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015

11
30
67
95
84

Table 2
County of Death
Monroe
Allegheny
Chemung
Genesee
Livingston
Ontario
Orleans
Steuben
Wyoming

2014
81
0
2
3
3
2
1
3
0

2015
69
1
3
2
1
3
0
3
2

740 East Henrietta Road Rochester, New York 14623

(585) 753-5923 fax: (585) 753-5930 www.monroecounty.gov

Office of the Medical Examiner

Forensic Toxicology Laboratory
Jeanne M. Beno, Ph.D., Chief Toxicologist
Donna R. Nemeth, M.S., Laboratory Supervisor

The majority of the decedents were white males (Tables 3,4); however there was a noticeable
increase in the percent of African American victims in 2015 when compared to 2014 (Table 3).
This change in the demographics is attributable in part to the fentanyl sold as cocaine in March
of 2015 Five of the six individuals who died that week were African Americans who did not
have a history of using heroin.
Table 3
Race
Caucasian
African American
Asian
Hispanic*
Other

2014
2015
87.4%
79.8%
7.4%
17.9%
1.0%
1.1%
1.0% *
2.2%
1.1%

* In 2015, 3 decedents were identified as

Caucasian/Hispanic and 1 decedent was
identified as African American/Hispanic

Table 4
Gender

2011-13
2014
2015

Male
79.6%
74.7%
73.8%

Female
20.4%
25.3%
26.2%

In 2015, the age range of the victims of heroin/fentanyl overdose ranged from 17 to 71 with a
median age of 36 (Table 5). Although the total number of heroin/fentanyl deaths investigated in
2015 decreased when compared to 2014, the number of fatalities still vastly exceeds historical
death rates for heroin overdose that existed prior to mid-2012 when the current crisis began
(Table 6). Variable monthly rates of heroin/fentanyl fatalities appear to primarily be due to
changing availability, potency and/or composition of drugs on the street. For example, a
significant number of the thirteen deaths seen in May of 2015 could be traced to a single brand
of heroin that contained only fentanyl. The availability of heroin and heroin substitutes varies by
region. In 2015, the Erie County New York region had an enormous number of overdose deaths
related to a synthetic analog of fentanyl called butyryl fentanyl. To date we have been fortunate
to have not seen any deaths in our region resulting from butyryl fentanyl, although we have
begun to see small amounts of another fentanyl analog, acetyl fentanyl, in some of our
heroin/fentanyl deaths. The problem of opiate abuse shows no sign of abating, as a number of
designer opiates have begun to appear in the U.S., Canada and Europe. The Medical
Examiners office is watching these developments carefully and adapting our testing
methodology as needed to detect these new threats to public health.
740 East Henrietta Road Rochester, New York 14623
(585) 753-5923 fax: (585) 753-5930 www.monroecounty.gov

Office of the Medical Examiner

Forensic Toxicology Laboratory
Jeanne M. Beno, Ph.D., Chief Toxicologist
Donna R. Nemeth, M.S., Laboratory Supervisor

Table 5

740 East Henrietta Road Rochester, New York 14623

(585) 753-5923 fax: (585) 753-5930 www.monroecounty.gov

Office of the Medical Examiner

Forensic Toxicology Laboratory
Jeanne M. Beno, Ph.D., Chief Toxicologist
Donna R. Nemeth, M.S., Laboratory Supervisor

Jan-11
Feb-11
Mar-11
Apr-11
May-11
Jun-11
Jul-11
Aug-11
Sep-11
Oct-11
Nov-11
Dec-11
Jan-12
Feb-12
Mar-12
Apr-12
May-12
Jun-12
Jul-12
Aug-12
Sep-12
Oct-12
Nov-12
Dec-12
Jan-13
Feb-13
Mar-13
Apr-13
May-13
Jun-13
Jul-13
Aug-13
Sep-13
Oct-13
Nov-13
Dec-13
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
Apr-14
May-14
Jun-14
Jul-14
Aug-14
Sep-14
Oct-14
Nov-14
Dec-14
Jan-15
Feb-15
Mar-15
Apr-15
May-15
Jun-15
Jul-15
Aug-15
Sep-15
Oct-15
Nov-15
Dec-15

Table 6: Deaths Related to Use of Street

Heroin/Fentanyl:
2
1
2011-2015
1
1

0
0
0

1
1

1
1

2
2

2
2
2
2

0
3

4
4
6

4
3

7
7

4
4

8
5

8
6
6

4
2
4

5
5

21

12
5
5
2

9
13

3
3

14

9
9
7

11
Monroe Co Medical

740 East Henrietta Road Rochester, New York 14623

(585) 753-5923 fax: (585) 753-5930 www.monroecounty.gov