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Orlando medical examiner, 'Dr. G,' retiring in May

Jan Garavaglia's last day will be May 28

ORLANDO, Fla. – Dr. G, the chief medical examiner for Orange and Osceola counties, is retiring.

Dr. Jan Garavaglia, known to most people as Dr. G because of her cable TV show "Dr. G: Medical Examiner," will step down May 28.

"I'm just very proud of what I'm leaving, so I know, it's time," said Garavaglia.

Dr. G was appointed to her role as chief medical examiner in 2003.  Since then, she's overseen the building of the state's first "green" morgue and the District 9 Medical Examiner's Office became nationally certified.

Garavaglia has worked on several high-profile cases in the Orlando area, including the Casey Anthony murder trial.

Although she's planned her retirement for several years, Dr. G publicly announced her decision Friday, saying it's part of a promise to her husband.

"I made a promise that if he moved here and left his career, I'd move anywhere he wanted to go when my kids left high school."

Garavaglia's current husband proposed to her in medical school, but she turned him down and later married another man.

More than two decades later, after her divorce, she reunited with him.

Once they married, she made the promise to move to his family's farm in Washington state when her children left for college.

At the end of the month, Dr. G said her husband will fly into Orlando and the two will embark on a three-week journey across the country.

After she's settled in, Garavaglia said she'll begin part-time work at a medical examiner's office in a small town near the Canadian boarder.

As for her time in Central Florida, Dr. G looks back fondly, saying it's the people she's worked with she will remember the most.

"I love the county. I'm gonna miss that, but I'm going to miss the people I work with every day the most," said Garavaglia.


About the Author

Mark Lehman became a News 6 reporter in July 2014, but he's been a Central Florida journalist and part of the News 6 team for much longer. While most people are fast asleep in their bed, Mark starts his day overnight by searching for news on the streets of Central Florida.

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