Yellowstone season 5, episode 11, entitled “Three Fifty-Three,” features a medical examiner who is played by Vinessa Shaw, an actress who is known for several other projects. “Three Fifty-Three” focuses on the investigation into John Dutton’s murder. A flashback scene shows Yellowstone’s John Dutton dead after being attacked by several masked intruders before jumping to the present, where Kayce is investigating the crime. Part of his investigation takes him to the coroner’s office.

The medical examiner is an important part of the aftermath of Kevin Costner’s exit from Yellowstone in “Three-Fifty-Three.” Kayce spends a long time in the coroner’s office and must convince her to let him look at the body and re-examine it, which leads to the pivotal plot point of the local police re-opening the investigation and declaring that John’s death is a homicide. Without this plot point, Yellowstone season 5, episode 11’s explosive ending would not have happened, so the series owes the actress who plays the medical examiner a debt of gratitude.

Vinessa Shaw Plays Janice Everly — John Dutton’s Medical Examiner In Yellowstone Season 5
The Actress’ Role Is Small But Important

The medical examiner, Janice Everly, is one of the most pivotal roles in “Three Fifty-Three” even though she only shares two scenes with Kayce and does not interact with anyone else in the episode. She is initially resistant to the idea that John was murdered and doesn’t want to give Kayce access to the report or the body, saying that “The Livestock Commission has no authority in this case.” However, Kayce reminds her of his rights as next of kin, and she reluctantly does as he asks, including taking a second look at the body at his insistence.

Everly is an effective red herring in John’s murder because of her resistance to helping Kayce. She is so uncooperative that it raises whether she has something to hide. However, when Kayce shows her bruises on the body and points out that John couldn’t have gotten them from falling after the fatal shot to the head, she seems surprised and apologizes for “having missed it.,” demonstrating that her resistance came from her own biases and not any malicious intent.

Vinessa Shaw’s TV & Movies (Where You Know Her From)
Shaw Is A Former Child Actor Best Known For The Movie Hocus Pocus

Yellowstone is far from Shaw’s first role. She is a former child actress who has been active in the industry since 1981 when she was five years old. Her first role was in the horror film Home Sweet Home. As a young girl, she had guest spots on shows such as The Torkelsons. However, Shaw’s big break came in 1993 when she landed the role of Allison in Hocus Pocus, the popular Halloween-themed comedy about a trio of witches who are awakened by a teenage boy two hundred years after their execution.

Shaw has continued acting well into adulthood. The Yellowstone actress has appeared as a guest star in many popular series, including House, where she also played a doctor, before landing the role of the medical examiner in Yellowstone. Her work as the medical examiner will be memorable because that small part contributed to the fate of every Dutton in Yellowstone as the series wraps up.