Dr. Leon Kelly

The Winter Night Club Presents Dr. Leon Kelly

Dr. Leon Kelly is a board-certified forensic pathologist, former El Paso County Coroner (2018–2024), and lifelong public servant whose career has unfolded at the crossroads of medicine, public health, and storytelling. He led one of Colorado’s busiest coroner’s offices, investigating thousands of deaths and helping drive legislative reforms to modernize the state’s coroner system. Dr. Kelly assisted in the criminal investigation of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Freemont County where at least 115 bodies were found.

His passion for prevention and community well-being has guided much of his work. He co-founded the El Paso County Child Fatality Review Team and the nationally recognized Teen Suicide Prevention Working Group, chaired the Colorado Springs chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for six years—earning an award later renamed in his honor—and served as Emergency Deputy Medical Director during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An educator at heart, Dr. Kelly has taught forensic pathology, death investigation, and public health to medical students for more than a decade. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Rocky Vista University and operates Neon Forensics, LLC, where he provides consulting, autopsy services, and expert testimony across the western U.S. His forensic expertise has been featured on national true crime programs including Homicide Hunter, Exhumed, and The Killing of JonBenét: The Truth Uncovered.

Outside the laboratory, he co-founded the Six Feet Under Horror Film Festival and recently made his executive producing debut on the feature film Devil in the Trunk, blending his love of the macabre with a commitment to authentic storytelling.

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