If you're looking for US terminology.

However, before the pianist could be put to rest, his body was seized by Riverside County Coroner Raymond Carrillo and autopsied. Carrillo announced that Liberace had indeed been carrying the HIV virus.

http://www.1st100.com/part3/liberace.html

hope this is helpful, best regards

German term (edited): beschlagnahmen

Associated with the responsibility of determining the cause and manner of death, the Coroner has numerous other responsibilities. Listed below are these responsibilities and clarifications.
...
TAKE CUSTODY OF THE BODY - This is Colorado Law. It is the Coroner’s responsibility to see that the body is removed from the scene. This must be done with extreme skill when there is evidence to preserve. It must be done with sensitivity and respect, as often family members are at the scene. The Coroner must make arrangements to have the body transported to a mortuary, or in cases where an autopsy or other tests must be done, the Coroner must transport the body to there forensic facilities, which may be hundreds of miles away. This responsibility must be carried out in the same professional manner regardless of if the body is in a hospital setting, or is decomposed, maggot infested, or an unknown body in the woods.
http://www.michaeljdobersen.org/duties.html

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Note added at 11 hrs (2010-08-28 09:03:37 GMT)
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von der Staatsanwaltschaft beanschlagt = in the Staatsanwaltschaft's custody

It all depends upon the starting situation:

they already have the body = they retain or withhold it

the body was being examined somewhere else or 'belonged' to someone else (e.g. a hospital) = they take it into custody or requisition it (but they might leave it where it physically is although their position would be required to move it or tamper with it)

they physically remove the body to their premises = impound

None of this is set in stone and actually it might even sound a bit comical saying 'take into custody' when you're talking about a dead person.


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Note added at 1 day18 hrs (2010-08-29 16:22:09 GMT)
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'position' in the third paragraph - I meant 'permission' of course

The coroner has the choice to release or hold the body. This question is saying:

The body has been:
a) released
b) not yet released
c) held for inquest

Inquest is the coroner's inquiry into the manner and cause of any violent, sudden or mysterious death.