COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – On Wednesday, El Paso County Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly announced he will retire at the end of the year.
“After a long career spanning nearly 17 years, I have reached a point where I feel I have achieved every goal I set for myself.”
Dr. Kelly has served as County Coroner since 2018 and has been with the office since 2008. He is a co-founder of the Teen Suicide Prevention Task Force, the State Coroner Standards and Training Commission, and the Child Mortality Investigation Team.
“I have done my best job in this position…The reality of this job is incredibly rewarding.The nature of our work means we are faced with never-ending crises, one after the other. continues,” Dr. Kelly said.
Kelly and his firm have weathered the opioid crisis, the teen suicide epidemic, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He also pushed for legislation that led to the passage of a bill this year that would impose regulations on funeral homes in Colorado and require candidates elected to county coroner positions to be death investigators or forensic pathologists.
“I feel like we’ve been successful. We’ve gotten through some pretty tough times and come out the other side and have contributed dramatically to the quality of life in this community,” Dr. Kelly said.
After stepping down, Dr. Kelly said he plans to spend his time doing the things he wanted to do, including teaching medical students, spending more time with his children, and furthering his passion for horror movies.
“I’ve met some really great people along the way, and I’m thrilled to be able to say that I’m working on the script for our first feature film, which is a horror movie that will hopefully be shot in Colorado. I hope…spend some time doing something creative and at least in some way share with the world the amazing stories and adventures and spooky things you experience along the way,” Dr. Kelly said. spoke.
Dr. Kelly hosts an annual horror film festival called “Six Feet Under Horror Fest.” He says the short film he’s currently working on will have a Southwest theme.
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