Homicide deaths in El Paso County decreased last year, according to an annual report from the county coroner's office.
The office investigates all sudden, unexplained or traumatic deaths, as well as deaths that could be public health threats, among other circumstances. Forensic investigations help provide the cause and manner that someone died.
According to the report, homicide accounted for 50 deaths in 2023 compared to 78 the previous year, which county officials call "a remarkable 36 percent decrease." The state defines homicide as a death due to intentional actions of another person.
A majority of homicides occurred because of some sort of “altercation,” and 37 involved the use of firearms.
Other leading circumstances included domestic and family violence (12), homicide occurring during the execution of another crime (11), and police officer involved homicide (4).
Across all age groups, death as a result of completed suicide death decreased slightly. Throughout the region, 189 people took their own lives in 2023, compared to 194 people in the previous year’s report.
That said, youth suicide more than doubled from the previous year. Ten minors completed suicide in 2023, up from four in the preceding year. The figure was as high as 20 four years ago.
More than a quarter of suicide deaths came from active duty service members or military veterans, and 76 percent were male.
The most common risk factors among adults who complete suicide according to the report are relationship issues, financial struggles, substance abuse, chronic health problems, grief, and legal issues.
The coroner's office said 212 accidental drug-related deaths occurred last year, representing a 2-percent reduction from 2022. Fentanyl was the most common drug-related cause of death — either alone or when combined with other substances–for the first time in the county’s history. Fentanyl surpassed methamphetamine in this category.
Fentanyl-related deaths increased 6 percent since the previous report, but the county says this jump is smaller compared to the last few years and represents a flattening of the curve on fentanyl deaths.
The 2022 report showed a 16-percent increase in fentanyl deaths, whereas the 2021 report showed fentanyl-related deaths more than doubled from the previous year.
More than 90 percent of drug-related deaths occurred before users could be transported to a hospital. This highlights “the need for community-based intervention,” county officials said in a press release.
Other report highlights:
- The coroner investigated 114 deaths among people experiencing homelessness, a slight decrease from the previous year. Drug intoxication and hypothermia were among leading causes of death.
- More than three quarters of people who died experiencing homelessness were male.
- Deaths from motor vehicle accidents decreased by 19 percent (62 in 2023; 77 in 2022).
- The office observed a steady rise in deaths related to chronic alcoholism. In 2023, 84 people died compared to 26 five years ago.
- Firearm-related deaths decreased since the previous report (159 in 2023; 173 in 2022). Three quarters were suicides, one quarter were homicides.
- Childhood fatalities nearly remained steady (39 in 2023; 40 in 2022).
The El Paso County coroner's office also works with other counties in southern Colorado and for a fee, conducts autopsies on request. For example, the office conducted investigations into the remains found at the now shuttered Return to Nature funeral home in Fremont County.
In total, the office performed more than 6,000 death investigations and 1,563 autopsies in 2023.
