COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – On Wednesday, Dr. Leon Kelly, the El Paso County Coroner, announced he will be retiring at the end of the year.
“It’s been a long nearly 17-year career and I got to the point where I felt like I had achieved all the goals I had set out.”
Dr. Kelly has served as county coroner since 2018 and has worked at the office since 2008. He has made large contributions to public health by serving on several committees, including the teen suicide prevention task force, the State Coroner Standards and Training Board, and cofounding the Child Fatality Review team.
“I’ve done the best job I can in this position…The reality of this job is it is incredibly challenging. Because of the nature of the work that we do, it’s never-ending crisis one after the next,” said Dr. Kelly.
Kelly and his office worked through the opioid crisis, the teen suicide epidemic, and the Covid-19 pandemic. He also pushed legislation that lead to laws passed this year requiring regulations for funeral homes in Colorado and requiring candidates elected to county coroner to be death investigators or forensic pathologists.
“It feels like it’s been successful. We’ve navigated some pretty tough times and came out the other side and have contributed dramatically to the quality of life in this community,” Dr. Kelly said
Dr. Kelly says following his resignation he will spend time on things he has wanted to do such as educating medical students, spending more time with his kids, and furthering his passion for horror films.
” I’ve met some really cool people along the way and I am excited to say we’re working on working on a script for our first feature film. It’s a horror film, hopefully to be filmed in Colorado…Spend some time doing some creative things and kind of sharing with the world at least in some capacity, some of the amazing stories and adventures and creepy stuff that I’ve experienced along the way,” said Dr. Kelly.
Dr. Kelly hosts an annual horror film festival called “Six Feet Under Horror Fest.” He says the short film he is working on will have a Southwestern theme.
According to county officials, they will be “releasing additional details soon” surrounding how they plan to replace Dr. Kelly.
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