A forensic pathologist from Virginia has been hired as North Dakota's state medical examiner.

Dr. William Massello, 60, of Roanoke, is slated to start the job on July 1 in Bismarck. He replaces Dr. George Mizell, who resigned in December citing personal and family reasons.

Massello, the assistant chief medical examiner for western Virginia, said he will retire from that post before moving to Bismarck this summer. Massello said he has been a medical examiner in Virginia for 27 years.

"This is a great chance for me to be the boss and a chance for me to do what I've been doing without being stuck with an insurmountable workload," Massello said. "I'm looking forward to it and I think I'm going to like it."

North Dakota's medical examiner works with county coroners and law enforcement officials on death investigations.

Mizell, who was hired in 1996, was the state's first medical examiner. He performed between 200 and 250 autopsies a year, said Dr. Terry Dwelle, the state health officer.

Massello said he and two other forensic pathologists perform from 750 to 850 autopsies a year in western Virginia. Massello said his office currently is short two positions.

The North Dakota Legislature authorized the hiring of a state medical examiner in 1993. Mizell was hired after a national search that lasted more than two years. Health Department officials had considered contracting forensic services from another state at the time because of the difficulty in finding someone for the job.

Dwelle said he expected it would take longer than it did to fill the post after Mizell resigned.

"We were kind of setting up for the long haul," Dwelle said.

The Health Department received several applications for the job and interviewed the top "three or four" candidates, Dwelle said.

Massello stood apart, Dwelle said.

"He is an incredible man, with a lot of experience," Dwelle said. "He just seems to be a great fit for us, personally and professionally."

Mizell was paid $142,512 annually, up from $108,000 when he was hired in 1996. The state Health Department said Massello will be paid $160,000 annually.