Natrona County Coroner Jim Whipps of Wyoming said a number of “unnatural deaths” occurred in one area of the state throughout 2024.
Whipps said the number of suicides, fatal car accidents and homicides in the area has skyrocketed, Cowboy State Daily reported. Reported September 5th.
Whipps said the death toll is on track to make 2024 one of the region's worst years, but he doesn't know why the numbers are increasing.
The report continues:
The total number of deaths in the county this year through August is 94, the same as in 2023, but there has been a “surge in unnatural deaths.”
“This has been an unusual year. It's been a rollercoaster year in terms of unnatural deaths,” he said. [Whipps] “We've seen a spike in all forms of unnatural death. We don't know why, but murders, suicides, drug overdoses … they're way above our average.”
Statistics by the end of August showed 20 suicides, compared with five in August, and for the same period in 2023, there were 22 suicides, but in the last quarter of 2023 “everything dropped off sharply for the remainder of the year,” he said.
The coroner also said he was shocked that many of the deaths, among residents in their 20s and 30s, were caused by “chronic alcoholism”.
May, Whips said He also told the outlet that there has been a spike in suicides, and that overdose deaths are mostly caused by illegal drugs and the numbers are on the rise.
“Our county's suicide rate relative to our population is one of the highest in the world, in the top four. Even third world countries and places that are in complete chaos don't have a suicide rate that's higher than this county in central Wyoming,” Whipps explained.
A teenager is suspected of killing a female student at a Natrona County high school in May. Police say the suspect has been identified as Evan Castaner. Buffalo Bulletin.
“Police received a report of a shooting just after midnight Tuesday. At the scene, police identified the victim as 17-year-old Lenea Brown.” Report He said.
“According to the affidavit, officers on scene observed Brown lying in the middle of Indian Wells Road, near the eastbound intersection with Buckboard Road, suffering from an 'apparent' gunshot wound to the head and with a large amount of blood around him,” the news outlet reported.
There have been five homicides and one unidentified death so far this year, Whipps said.
