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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
HOUSE BILL 4151 By: Hasenbeck
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to domestic abuse; directing law
enforcement officers to conduct interviews regarding
domestic abuse; authorizing law enforcement officers
to request autopsies when certain conditions are
present; requiring current training for law
enforcement officers who conduct certain
investigations; allowing family members access to
victim services; granting family members the right to
request certain records; emphasizing the discretion
of law enforcement when conducting death
investigations; providing liability provision;
defining terms; amending 63 O.S. 2021, Section 938,
as amended by Section 3, Chapter 263, O.S.L. 2024 (63
O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 938), which relates to
medicolegal investigations; expanding scope of deaths
to be investigated; authorizing coroners to conduct
certain inquiries in consultation with pathologists;
providing for codification; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 40.8 of Title 22, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Prior to making any findings as to the manner and cause of
death of a deceased individual with an identifiable history of being
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victimized by domestic abuse, and in the presence of three or more
factors provided for in subsection B of this section, law
enforcement investigators shall interview family members, such as
parents, siblings, or other close friends or relatives of the
decedent with relevant information regarding the history of domestic
abuse.
B. Law enforcement investigators may request a complete autopsy
in a case where they have determined there is an identifiable
history of being victimized by domestic abuse and any of the
following conditions are present:
1. The decedent died prematurely or in an untimely manner;
2. The scene of the death gives the appearance of a death due
to suicide or an accident;
3. The decedent or partner of the decedent wanted to end the
relationship;
4. There is a history of being victimized by domestic abuse
that included coercive control;
5. The decedent is found dead in a home or place of residence;
6. The decedent is found by a current or previous partner of
the decedent;
7. There is a history of being victimized by domestic abuse
that includes strangulation or suffocation;
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8. The current or previous partner of the decedent, child of
the decedent, or child of the current or previous partner of the
decedent, is the last to see the decedent alive;
9. The partner of the decedent had control of the scene before
law enforcement arrived; or
10. The body of the decedent had been moved or the scene or
other evidence was altered in some way.
C. Law enforcement personnel investigating a death where it has
been determined that the decedent has an identifiable history of
being victimized by domestic abuse shall be current in his or her
training related to domestic abuse incidents.
D. During the pendency of the investigation and any review,
family members shall have access to all victim services and support
provided under the Oklahoma Victim's Rights Act.
E. In the event that a local law enforcement agency makes a
finding that the death is not a homicide and closes the case, family
members or legal representation of the family members shall have the
right to request any and all records of the investigation currently
available, as provided for in Section 942 of Title 63 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
F. The provisions of this section shall not require law
enforcement agencies to compromise an existing or open investigation
and shall not preempt the discretion provided to law enforcement
agencies in the investigation of death cases. This section shall
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not impose any additional liability on a law enforcement agency for
its investigation of existing cases or its investigative conclusions
in those cases.
G. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
shall apply:
1. "Domestic abuse" shall have the same meaning as such term is
defined in Section 60.1 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
2. "Identifiable history of being victimized by domestic abuse"
means demonstrable past incidents of being victimized by domestic
abuse that may be verified by prior police reports, written or
photographic documentation, restraining order declarations,
eyewitness statements, or other evidence that corroborates a history
of such incidents; and
3. "Partner" means a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former
cohabitant, fiancé, someone with whom the decedent had a dating
relationship or engagement for marriage, or the parent of the child
of the decedent.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 938, as
amended by Section 3, Chapter 263, O.S.L. 2024 (63 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 938), is amended to read as follows:
Section 938. A. All human deaths of the types listed herein
shall be investigated as provided by law:
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1. Violent deaths, whether apparently homicidal, suicidal,
including suicide where the deceased had a history of being
victimized by domestic abuse, or accidental;
2. Deaths under suspicious, unusual or unnatural circumstances;
3. Deaths related to disease which might constitute a threat to
public health;
4. Deaths unattended by a licensed physician for a fatal or
potentially fatal illness;
5. Deaths that are medically unexpected and that occur in the
course of a therapeutic procedure;
6. Deaths of any persons detained or occurring in custody of
the Department of Corrections or a county jail;
7. Deaths of persons whose bodies are to be cremated,
transported out of the state, donated to educational entities, to
include limited portions of the body, or otherwise made ultimately
unavailable for pathological study; and
8. Maternal deaths that occur during pregnancy or within one
(1) year of termination of pregnancy reported by a hospital or
birthing center under Section 2 1-702f of this act title.
B. The Chief Medical Examiner shall state on the certificate of
death of all persons whose death was caused by execution pursuant to
a lawful court order that the cause of death was the execution of
such order.
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C. If the circumstances surrounding a death known or suspected
to be suicide affords a reasonable basis to suspect that the death
was caused by or related to domestic abuse by another, the coroner
may conduct the inquiry in consultation with a board-certified
pathologist certified by the American Board of Pathology.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
60-2-14200 GRS 01/09/26