Dr. Curdle Jr.

"There's something dimly familiar about this. But you asked me before if I thought this was murder or suicide. I'm not sure what it is, but whatever it is, it's darker than what happened to Jason Blossom. Or what the Black Hood did. No, what we're looking at here, I believe, is the true face of evil."

- Dr. Curdle Jr. to Betty and Jughead

Dr. Curdle Jr. is a recurring character on The CW's Riverdale. He is portrayed by Nikolai Witschl.

He is the local coroner in Riverdale, taking over for his father after his passing.

Early Life
Much of Dr. Curdle Jr.'s life remains a mystery, though at some point, he became a coroner in Riverdale along with his father Dr. Curdle.

Season 3
Dr. Curdle Jr, who took over his father's coroner business after his passing, meets with Betty and Jughead. The toxicology report revealed lethal levels of cyanide in Dilton Doiley's blood. Dr. Curdle surmises that Ben only survived because he didn't drink enough to finish the job. Betty looks to Dr. Curdle, hoping he can determine whether this was a murder or suicide. He replies that the body did show signs of stress and there are three symbols carved out on Dilton's back. He guesses they're Runic. Jughead proceeds to take a photo of the symbols. As for what caused their lips to turn blue, the cyanide was mixed into a sugary drink called "Fresh-Aid". Blueberry flavored. There's something dimly familiar about this case to Dr. Curdle. Still, he's not quite sure if it's a murder or suicide. But whatever it is, it's darker than what happened to Jason Blossom. Or the Black Hood killings. What we're looking at here, is the true face of evil. Afterwards, Jughead develops the photos he took of Dilton's body in a darkroom.

Dr. Curdle Jr., calls Betty at the Blue and Gold to inform her of a discovery he made in the morgue archives. He shares with her a case file from many years ago. The file contains another suspicious death that took place at Riverdale High School, where the corpse had blue lips.

At the coroner’s office, Dr. Curdle Jr. tends to Archie’s wounds, telling him to keep it clean and dry. As for the infection, he has some antibiotics, which he retrieved for Archie after Kevin paid him in small bills as requested.

Curdle later shares with Betty Darryl Doiley’s autopsy report, which shows no mention of carbon monoxide poisoning. Dr. Curdle Jr also reveals that carbon monoxide was not the cause of death. While Darryl Doiley was indeed found in his car with the windows up, there was no traces of carbon monoxide in his system, meaning he was dead beforehand. It turns out that Darryl Doiley was actually poisoned with Oleander. Dr. Curdle Jr. thinks that Doiley’s death was a murder disguised as a suicide. Betty then asks who was the active sheriff at the time of the murder as she wants to question the person who closed the case. Dr. Curdle Jr. informs Betty that Tom Keller was the current sheriff.

Curdle informs Betty that Penelope Blossom requested that there be no autopsy on her husband Clifford. But Dr. Curdle Jr. ‘s father did one regardless out of sheer curiosity. While there was bruising around the esophagus, consistent with that of a hanging victim, tetrodotoxin, pufferfish venom, was also found in his bloodstream, meaning Clifford Blossom was already dead when he hung himself.

Dr. Curdle Jr. receives a surprise visit from Jughead, who wanted to know about Sheriff Minetta's alleged murder. A week ago, the torso of Minetta supposedly was found without its head and hands. Jughead demanded answers as to who told Curdle to fake Minetta’s death as it wasn't actually Minetta. Curdle reveals that he was told to do so by Mayor Lodge.

At the coroner’s lab Dr. Curdle Jr. informs FP and Jughead that Baby Teeth died from loss of blood, from the pulling of his teeth, which occurred pre-mortem. During the autopsy, Curdle also discovered a matchbook from the Maple Club lodged down Baby Teeth’s throat.