(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — The El Paso County Coroner's Office announced today that Chief Medical Examiner and Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly will resign effective Dec. 31, 2024. Kelly has served the county for nearly 17 years, first as deputy chief medical examiner and later as coroner and chief medical examiner. He led the office through challenging periods, including a teen suicide epidemic, three waves of the opioid crisis, culminating in the current fentanyl epidemic, the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple mass shootings, homicides, and one of Colorado’s largest human remains recoveries. Kelly co-founded the El Paso County Child Fatality Review Team and chairs the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Colorado Springs board, both of which work to reduce teen and adult suicide. He also taught courses on the investigation of injury and death at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs 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."  Kelly went on to say that he left knowing that the office would be able to carry on the work with the highest standards of excellence and integrity. He also extended his deepest thanks to law enforcement, fire departments, first responders, the legal community, the healthcare community, and other partners that he had worked with. "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," he said.