Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of deaths, including the deaths of children. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you.
Choking is fast, quiet, and more common than most people think. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns explains what happens when the airway is fully obstructed, why panic and oxygen loss escalate in seconds, and how irreversible brain injury can follow within minutes. Through a series of cases, he shows how choking deaths present across age groups: swallowing problems in the elderly, intoxication and unpredictable behaviors in adults, and everyday household hazards in children. From pica-related obstructions to foreign-body ingestion and a devastating battery case with delayed, catastrophic injury, Dr. Crowns ties the forensic details to the real-world patterns that show up again and again in preventable deaths.
Highlights
• (0:00) Welcome to Mayhem in the Morgue with Dr. Kendall Crowns
• (0:30) Grapes of Death: prevalence, risk groups, and who's most at risk
• (1:00) Choking physiology: complete obstruction and the fast countdown to unconsciousness
• (2:00) Heimlich maneuver basics and why it works
• (4:00) Café coronary syndrome: the misread emergency that can cost a life
• (5:15) Case 1: a 22-year-old, trashed room, and injuries that don’t match a fight
• (7:30) Adult risk factors: impaired gag reflex, talking while eating, and certain mental health conditions
• (7:45) Case 2: pica, latex gloves, and fatal choking
• (9:45) Diagnostic criteria and patterns: the obsession, sensory pull, and short-term relief
• (11:15) Case 3: ballpoint pen ingestion, bowel perforation, peritonitis, and sepsis
• (12:30) Pediatric choking: the biggest hazards and why the youngest kids are most vulnerable
• (13:45) How kids’ airways are different: size, shape, larger tongue proportion, and a floppier epiglottis
• (14:00) Case 4: a 5-month-old, a missed item on the floor, and a cherry blocking the airway
• (15:45) Case 5: swallowed battery, delayed symptoms, burns, erosions, and fistulas into major vessels
• (18:15) Closing: prevention, awareness, and why messaging can save lives
About the Host: Dr. Kendall Crowns is the Chief Medical Examiner for Travis County, Texas, and a nationally recognized forensic pathologist. He has led death investigations in Travis County, Fort Worth, Chicago, and Kansas. Over his career, he has performed thousands of autopsies and testified in court hundreds of times as an expert witness. A frequent contributor to Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, Dr. Crowns brings unparalleled insight into the strange, grisly, and sometimes absurd realities of forensic pathology.
About the Show
Mayhem in the Morgue takes listeners inside the bloody, bizarre, and often unbelievable world of forensic pathology. Hosted by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns, each episode delivers real-life cases from the morgue, the crime scene, and the courtroom. Expect gallows humor, hard truths, and unforgettable investigations.
Connect and Learn More
Learn more about Dr. Kendall Crowns on Linkedin. Catch him regularly on Crime Stories with Nancy Grace and follow Mayhem in the Morgue where you get your podcasts.
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