People are Dying to Work with Him

Whether you call him "El Muerto" as his friends and colleagues have endearingly dubbed him, or the traveling autopsy guy, or (death) consultant to the stars - celebrities have been known to call on him for privacy reasons when there is a family death, and production companies hire him as a professional advisor for correct scene-positioning of "dead" bodies-Vidal Herrera will get back to you, day or night.

After all, death has no office hours.

Herrera, 46, is founder and president of the Los Angeles-based Autopsy/Post Services, a mobile autopsy and post-mortem tasks company. "Some people think we're a joke," he laments. But why would anyone think that of Herrera, who proudly cruises the Southland in one of his three white vans adorned with his copyrighted logo and phone number: "1-800-AUTOPSY"

In an age of significant hospital cutbacks, autopsies are now performed in a mere five to six percent of cases (from 42 percent of them in 1965). Herrera, who stepped into his first morgue at the ripe age of seventeen and later served as a field deputy investigator with the Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner Coroner's office, provides solid answers and peace of mind for families or legal professionals who have residual questions about the cause of death.

With a staff of three technicians and eleven physicians, Herrera-who himself is not licensed to perform solo autopsies-assists at mortuaries, or sends his staff members directly to his customers, even if that means hiring out-of-state requests. (1-800-AUTOPSY will have locations in 72 cities in the U.S. and sixteen cities internationally by next year.) Of course, all procedures are performed in complete confidentiality.

Those dying for more information can access Herrera's extensive Web site at - what else?-www.1800autopsy.com, where brightly hued organ icons lead to everything from the company's history, to yes, his very own gift catalog.