Coroner: Overdose deaths on the rise; high number of homicides

Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting says his office is on track to hit a record high number of cases this year, led by an increase in drug overdose deaths.

In the first six months of this year, there have been 96 death investigation cases compared to 66 cases in the same period in 2019. The number of overdose deaths have more than doubled with 20 so far this year, compared to 9 at this point last year. In all of last year, there were only 24 overdose deaths, and only 19 in 2018.

Nolting said that methamphetamine and fentanyl have both appeared in nine deaths this year.

There have also been four homicides already in Bartholomew County this year. That compares to two homicides in all of last year, none in 2019 and a single homicide in 2017.

Nolting said that child deaths are down this year and suicides are on par with last year.

Overall, the county’s death investigations are on pace to come close to 200 this year, which would be a new record, Nolting said.

Nolting also noted that his office has not been handling any of the county’s deaths from COVID-19. He said that most of the patients who have died of COVID-19 were under the care of a doctor and the cause of their death is known, which doesn’t require an investigation.

According to the Indiana State Department of Health, Bartholomew County has had 47 deaths from COVID-19.