El Paso County Coroner resigns, effective Dec. 31, 2024
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - The El Paso County Coroner has announced that he is resigning, effective Dec. 31, 2024.
Dr. Leon Kelly has served El Paso County for nearly 17 years, first as Deputy Chief Medical Examiner and then as Coroner/Chief Medical Examiner. During his tenure, he has led the office through some of the most challenging times in the county's history, including a multi-year teen suicide epidemic, three waves of a national opioid crisis culminating in the current fentanyl epidemic, the COVID-19 global pandemic, multiple mass shootings, countless homicides, and one of the largest recoveries of human remains in Colorado history.
In addition to his work as Coroner, Dr. Kelly co-founded the El Paso County Child Fatality Review Team and serves as board chair of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Colorado Springs. Both organizations work to reduce teen and adult suicide. He was also a professor at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, where he has taught courses on the investigation of injury and death for over a decade.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our community, as well as the citizens of Southern Colorado, " said Dr. Kelly. "I am most grateful for the relationships and time spent working alongside the most dedicated, resourceful, and brilliant staff of any coroner's office in the country. I leave with absolute confidence in their ability to carry on this mission, knowing they will continue to uphold the standards of excellence and integrity that has defined this office for the past 60 years."
Dr. Kelly also extended his deepest thanks to his many partners over the years, including law enforcement, fire departments, first responders, the legal community, healthcare professionals, public health officials, media, and public servants of all kinds. "The collaboration among these entities has been invaluable in ensuring justice, providing comfort to grieving families, and taking the first critical steps towards improving public health and safety. I am grateful for their trust and support over the years."
"My journey as coroner has been both rewarding and humbling, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of this community," Dr. Kelly concluded.
