Career
Dr. Arden received his medical (MD) degree from the University of Michigan. He completed training in anatomic pathology at the New York University Medical Center, and in forensic pathology at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland. He has been certified in both anatomic and forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology since 1985.
In the course of his over 30 year career, Dr. Arden served more than 20 years as a government medical examiner in Suffolk County (NY), Delaware, New York City, the District of Columbia and the State of West Virginia. He has performed over 3,000 autopsies and appeared over 800 times as an expert witness. Dr. Arden is currently licensed to practice medicine in five states and also holds a part-time appointment as a forensic pathologist for the State of West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Arden Forensics, PC, was established in 2006 to provide consultation and expert witness services in civil and criminal cases, for the plaintiff, prosecution, and defense.
Outreach
As Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia, Dr. Arden worked jointly with The Wendt Center for Loss and Healing to establish RECOVER, the most comprehensive bereavement support program in a medical examiner office in the United States. RECOVER offers help and services to families and children coping with the grief and loss of loved ones, from identifying remains to following up by offering guidance and services for dealing with the traumatic effects of violent deaths.
Dr. Arden has also applied his expertise while serving on numerous task forces and professional projects related to emergency preparedness, bio-terrorism, local health policies, domestic violence, and fatality review, including:
- Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Bio-terrorism Task Force
- Government of the District of Columbia’s Emergency Preparedness Task Force and Committee
- Environmental Clearance Committee for the Curseen-Morris Postal Facility in the District of Columbia (part of the 2003 anthrax cleanup effort)
- National Institute of Justice’s Identification of the Missing focus group, representing the NAME
Commendation
In March 2011, Dr. Arden received commendations from the Acting Commissioner of Health and Human Services and the Chief Medical Examiner of West Virginia for his assistance during the Upper Big Branch mine disaster, where Dr. Arden autopsied five victims of the mine collapse.
High-Profile Cases
Dr. Arden was the lead medical examiner on the Steven Pennell serial killing case in Delaware, where his physical post-mortem examination of the victims uncovered fiber evidence that was later key to identifying and convicting the killer. This case was later featured on the HBO series, “Autopsy,” and has been profiled in several books.
Other high profile cases include:
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Conducting the autopsy of Chandra Levy, identifying her skeletal remains through dental records
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Supervising the autopsy of Pascal Charlot, the victim of DC-area snipers John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo
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Investigating the shooting deaths of Capital Police officers John Gibson and Jacob J. Chestnut, performing one and supervising both autopsies
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Supervising the autopsy of the bio-terrorism-related inhalation anthrax death of Washington, DC postal worker Joseph Curseen
Media
Dr. Arden has provided commentary regarding medical and forensic aspects of homicides, suicides, missing persons, natural deaths and disease, and other related subjects, on CNN, CourtTV, Fox News, CBS and NBC News, CNN Headline News, MSNBC, E!Entertainment Television, and Sky TV (UK), as well as in several national and local print publications.