Joshua Vaughn (Narrator/Reporter)

Executive Producers for Advanced Local are Richard Diamond and Selena Roberts. Executive Producers are Nigeri Eaton, George Lavender, Marshall Louis, and Jen Sargent for Wondery.

Executive Producers for Advanced Local are Richard Diamond and Selena Roberts. Executive Producers are Nigeri Eaton, George Lavender, Marshall Louis, and Jen Sargent for Wondery.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of Death County PA early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. The body of Tyreek Riley lies on a table inside a coroner's office. A breathing tube from the hospital still hangs from Tyreek's mouth. IV catheters protrude from his neck and right hand.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of Death County PA early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. The body of Tyreek Riley lies on a table inside a coroner's office. A breathing tube from the hospital still hangs from Tyreek's mouth. IV catheters protrude from his neck and right hand.

Tyreek was just 21 years old, a young black man whose death was unimaginable just two weeks earlier when he had been arrested and sent to the local jail. Now, it falls under the broad category of a death of questionable circumstances. So, in a sterile exam room in a generic office park, a few miles southeast of downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the autopsy of Tyreek Riley begins.

Tyreek was just 21 years old, a young black man whose death was unimaginable just two weeks earlier when he had been arrested and sent to the local jail. Now, it falls under the broad category of a death of questionable circumstances. So, in a sterile exam room in a generic office park, a few miles southeast of downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the autopsy of Tyreek Riley begins.

A forensic pathologist in a surgical mask examines Tyreek's body. In some ways, he seems to have been perfectly healthy. The pathologist notes Tyreek still looks well-nourished and well-built. But Tyrek's body also shows signs of injury. The pathologist jots down what he sees. Contusion to the mid-forehead. Contusion to the tongue. Abrasions on the lips.

A forensic pathologist in a surgical mask examines Tyreek's body. In some ways, he seems to have been perfectly healthy. The pathologist notes Tyreek still looks well-nourished and well-built. But Tyrek's body also shows signs of injury. The pathologist jots down what he sees. Contusion to the mid-forehead. Contusion to the tongue. Abrasions on the lips.

A quarter-inch cut encircling the right wrist. Cuts on the knuckles. Bruising on a forearm. Abrasions on the legs and feet. And a six-inch bruise on the right hip. The pathologist examines the internal organs too. He sees hemorrhaging in the lungs, oxygen deprivation in the brain. It would be up to the pathologist to stitch together these findings into an official report.

A quarter-inch cut encircling the right wrist. Cuts on the knuckles. Bruising on a forearm. Abrasions on the legs and feet. And a six-inch bruise on the right hip. The pathologist examines the internal organs too. He sees hemorrhaging in the lungs, oxygen deprivation in the brain. It would be up to the pathologist to stitch together these findings into an official report.

But another man would be responsible for actually deciding Tyreek's cause and manner of death. Graham Hetrick, the county coroner. Graham is there in the exam room during the autopsy, and he looms over the proceedings. In many ways, he looms over Harrisburg and all of Dauphin County. He has an unmistakable look, a neatly cropped white beard, tortoise shell spectacles, often a white lab coat.

But another man would be responsible for actually deciding Tyreek's cause and manner of death. Graham Hetrick, the county coroner. Graham is there in the exam room during the autopsy, and he looms over the proceedings. In many ways, he looms over Harrisburg and all of Dauphin County. He has an unmistakable look, a neatly cropped white beard, tortoise shell spectacles, often a white lab coat.

He has his own TV show, a true crime reality series on ID Discovery, named for his catchphrase, I speak for the dead. And in real life, it was Graham Hetrick's job to solve the mystery of how Tyreek's time in jail led to his death. Graham had ruled on thousands of deaths before. His findings were rarely challenged, but this time would be different.

He has his own TV show, a true crime reality series on ID Discovery, named for his catchphrase, I speak for the dead. And in real life, it was Graham Hetrick's job to solve the mystery of how Tyreek's time in jail led to his death. Graham had ruled on thousands of deaths before. His findings were rarely challenged, but this time would be different.

Graham's conclusions about why Tyreek died would unleash a furious response and expose a fact that local officials were trying hard to hide. Tyreek's death was part of a pattern. Something very bad was going on inside Dolphin County Prison.

Graham's conclusions about why Tyreek died would unleash a furious response and expose a fact that local officials were trying hard to hide. Tyreek's death was part of a pattern. Something very bad was going on inside Dolphin County Prison.

From Wondery and PennLive, I'm Joshua Vaughn, and this is Death County, PA. I grew up in Waynesboro, a small town in central Pennsylvania. It's a great place to grow up. It was small and rural. You knew your neighbors. You got a lot of freedom as a kid. It was also homogenous, almost completely white, and it could feel a little stifling.

From Wondery and PennLive, I'm Joshua Vaughn, and this is Death County, PA. I grew up in Waynesboro, a small town in central Pennsylvania. It's a great place to grow up. It was small and rural. You knew your neighbors. You got a lot of freedom as a kid. It was also homogenous, almost completely white, and it could feel a little stifling.

Waynesboro is about an hour from Harrisburg, the state capital. And when I was a kid, Harrisburg was the big city to me. It had a bad reputation, and sometimes for good reasons. The longtime mayor of Harrisburg ran the city like a petty dictatorship. People called him mayor for life.

Waynesboro is about an hour from Harrisburg, the state capital. And when I was a kid, Harrisburg was the big city to me. It had a bad reputation, and sometimes for good reasons. The longtime mayor of Harrisburg ran the city like a petty dictatorship. People called him mayor for life.