With the blessing of Guam’s Attorney General, the governor’s signature and certification of funds, Guam’s new chief medical examiner is already hard at work.

Dr. Keng-Chih “Kenny” Su’s three-year contract with Guam became official Tuesday.

He will assume all roles left vacant by the departure of former CME Dr. Jeffrey Nine, who had to move unexpectedly.

Nine resigned and returned to the mainland United States in April for family reasons, after just over a year on the job.

However, Nine was working remotely as a consultant while a replacement was sought.

Su accepted an offer from the Post-Mortem Examinations Commission in September to be the island’s next chief medical examiner with an annual base salary of $350,000 plus 32.2% in benefits, bringing total compensation to $462,700. .

The amount could still rise to $512,700.

Nine still played a critical role in the search for their own replacement, said Guam Attorney General Douglas Moylan. With their help, along with the Post-Mortem Examination Commission and other government agencies, Su began work when Nine finished his last day.

“We are very fortunate to have such a highly qualified CME like Dr. Su working for us and with us,” Moylan said. “In our recruiting efforts we discovered that there were few CMEs available across the country and that those who might be available were not as qualified or experienced as Dr. Su.”

Moylan said in September that they had the ability to offer Su the $350,000 salary that was allocated in the recently signed fiscal 2025 budget, but would also ask the Legislature to allocate an additional $50,000 in the supplemental budget bill.

If approved, that would increase Su’s base salary to $400,000 a year, which Su agreed to, and his total annual compensation would exceed half a million dollars.

The previous chief medical examiner, Dr. Jeffrey Nine, had a base salary of $310,000, according to PDN records.

A medical examiner is responsible for identifying the bodies of the deceased, investigating, determining the cause of death, and assisting in investigations regarding the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death. Death investigations are not only required by law, but are also necessary to achieve justice and closure.

Moylan said there are seven or fewer autopsies that need to be completed as soon as possible so his office can continue processing applicable cases. The autopsy reports you will generate may also require your testimony as an expert during the trial.

“You’ll notice he has a lot of experience in that area; that was one of the questions we asked him during the recruiting phase,” Moylan said.

As of August 2024, Su had testified more than 100 times in court, handled about 440 homicide cases, and handled about 3,100 autopsies in total. He spent his last 12 years in California and Texas, and his last position was as chief medical examiner for the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office in McKinney, Tx.

Some of its other not-so-obvious functions would be to collect and record information. His predecessor, Dr. Nine, once shared statistics showing that one in 17 deaths was related to methamphetamine.

Su may also need to stay on top of things and apply for federal grants that Guam qualifies for.

Guam’s new chief medical examiner told commission members last month that he was interested in working in Guam because it was a 3.5-hour flight to Taiwan, where he can be closer to his 90-year-old mother.

He had originally applied for the position in 2021 when it became vacant following the retirement of CME veteran Dr. Aurelio Espinola in 2019.

She ultimately turned down an offer because her children were still in high school. Su said now that they are in college, he and his wife can move to Guam.