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The Howard County Coroner’s Office investigated 61 deaths in the first quarter of 2023 ending on March 31. Of those cases, 31 were determined to be due to natural causes. There was one homicide, seven suicides, 20 accidental deaths, and one case that is still under investigation. The coroner’s office reviewed 24 additional direct release cases.

Of the 20 accidental deaths, 11 were due to drug overdose, two were the result of motor vehicle accidents, seven were due to a fall-related injury, and two were due to weather exposure. Of the 11 confirmed overdose cases, 10 involved Fentanyl, two involved Methamphetamine, five involved Cocaine, one involved Xylazine, and one involved other miscellaneous substances. The total number of drug overdoses for 2023 stands at 11, which is five more than the first quarter of 2022.

Xylazine is a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer that is not approved for human use. On the street it is referred to as “Tranq.” In a public safety alert issued by the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration, “Xylazine is making the deadliest drug that our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier.” In 2022 approximately 23 percent of fentanyl powder and seven percent of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine. They have seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of the 50 states.

Information from the CDC indicates that 107,735 Americans died from drug poisonings between August 2021 and August 2022, with 66 percent of them involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels in Mexico are using chemicals largely sourced from China to produce most of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in the United States.

The Howard County Coroner’s Office has investigated a total of seven deaths with a link to xylazine since 2019. Of the 61 cases investigated in the first quarter of 2023, there were 29 autopsies conducted, 31 toxicology studies, and one X-ray study performed for a total cost of $51,268 to the county. The toxicology testing for suspected drug overdose cases is presently being paid by a grant through the Indiana State Department of Health. All autopsies ordered by the coroner are conducted by a board-certified forensic pathologist.