Coroner: Suicides, Fatal Car Crashes, and Killings ‘Through the Roof’ in Wyoming County

A Wyoming community has experienced numerous “unnatural deaths” throughout the course of 2024, according to Natrona County Coroner Jim Whipps.

Whipps said the number of suicides, fatal car wrecks, and killings in his area is skyrocketing, the Cowboy State Daily reported on September 5.

Whipps said the deaths are on pace to make 2024 one of the area’s worst years, but he is unsure of why the numbers are rising.

The report continued:

The overall number of deaths in the county through August this year are the same as 2023 — 94 — but “unnatural deaths are going through the roof.”

“This has been an abnormal year, kind of a roller coaster ride when it comes to unnatural death,” he [Whipps] said. “Unnatural death in every form is going through the roof. I don’t know why that is, but homicides, suicides, overdoses … they are way above what would be average for us.”

Statistics through the end of August show 20 suicides, with five in August. He said in 2023 at the same point, suicides were at 22, but the last quarter of 2023 “everything kind of dropped off the cliff for the rest of the year.”

The coroner also expressed shock that many of the deaths were from “chronic alcoholism” among residents in their 20s and 30s.

In May, Whipps told the outlet suicides were surging. He also said overdose deaths were primarily happening due to illicit drugs, and those numbers were rising.

Whipps explained, “Our county suicide rate by percentage of population is within the top realm, top four in the world. Even third-world countries and places in total chaos don’t have the suicide rate that we have in this county in the middle of Wyoming.”

A teenager was suspected of killing a Natrona County High School girl in May. The suspect was identified as Eavan Castaner, according to the Buffalo Bulletin.

“Police responded to a call for a shooting just after midnight early Tuesday. At the scene, police identified the victim as 17-year-old Lenea Brown,” the report said.

“Deputies at the scene observed Brown lying in the middle of Indian Wells Road near the eastern intersection with Buckboard Road with an ‘obvious’ gunshot wound to the head and a large amount of blood around her, according to an affidavit,” the outlet stated.

According to Whipps, there have been five homicides and a single undetermined death so far this year.