MEET BOBBI JO
Bobbi Jo O'Neal, a Registered Nurse and a Board-Certified Fellow with the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, has served in the Coroner’s Office since 1998, including serving as Chief Deputy Coroner from 2011-2020. She was elected Charleston County Coroner in 2020.
With her leadership, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office is one of only 34 coroner offices in the country that is accredited by the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. Additionally, as a grant writer for the Coroner's Office, O'Neal has successfully brought in over $2 Million in funds to Charleston County.
O'Neal is the President of the South Carolina Coroner's Association, the immediate past President of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners (IACME) and the current Chair of the IACME Board of Directors. She serves on the Executive Committee for the Lowcountry Healthcare Coalition, and numerous other Boards and Commissions. She is also a President's Appointee to the Public Safety, Corrections and Judicial Steering Committee for the South Carolina Association of Counties.
An experienced emergency room nurse, O'Neal received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is and has been actively involved in the specialty of forensic nursing.
She is a member of the National Association of Medical Examiners, a Fellow with the American Academy of Forensic Science, a member of the South Carolina Coroner's Association, and a member of numerous national committees which seek to develop protocols and training material for medicolegal death investigators.
A former Director-at-Large for the International Association of Forensic Nurses, O'Neal is the author of the book "Investigating Infant Deaths" and has had the unfortunate distinction of working the mass fatalities of the Charleston Super Store fire and the Emanuel AME mass shooting.
Appointed to the Board of Directors to the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations (CFSO) representing Coroners all across the country, Coroner Bobbi Jo O'Neal was awarded the 2022 Coroner of the Year by the South Carolina Coroner's Association and the 2023 Partner Award from We Are Sharing Hope for her support of organ and tissue donation.
Interviewed for the podcast "In Their Words". Invited to represent Coroner's across the country.
Featured in the City Paper for the work we are doing regarding Fentanyl Deaths
Paid for by Bobbi Jo O'Neal Campaign