Larimer County Coroner James Wilkerson resigns
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Longtime Larimer County Coroner James Wilkerson has resigned from his post just months before his term would have ended.
Wilkerson’s last day as county coroner is Friday, Sept. 2, according to a news release from the county.
The coroner’s office investigates unexpected or sudden deaths, and the coroner is responsible for determining a person’s manner and cause of death.
Wilkerson is a triple-board certified forensic pathologist, which is a medical doctor specializing in clinical, anatomic and forensic pathology who determines the cause of death when a person dies unexpectedly, according to the county’s news release. The coroner’s office investigates unexpected or sudden deaths that occur in the county.
Wilkerson has been practicing for 25 years, with the last 14 in Larimer County. In his career, he has completed thousands of forensic autopsies, hundreds of on-scene investigations and testified in numerous court cases, according to the news release.
Wilkerson’s term was set to be up in January, with the county’s next coroner to be selected in the November election. Matthew Canaga — the current chief deputy coroner — and Stephen Hanks are running to fill the position.
Until the next coroner is elected, Gary Darling has been selected by the Larimer County Commissioners as interim coroner, according to the news release. He’s set to be sworn in during the commissioner’s meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
Because Wilkerson resigned so close to the November election, the commissioner’s chose “to fill the vacancy with a non-political appointee,” according to the news release.
Darling previously spent 30 years at the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office before being appointed to lead the county’s Criminal Justice Services department — now known as Community Justice Alternatives — in 2009, which includes the community corrections and work release programs. He retired in May 2020.
“The Board of County Commissioners wishes Dr. Wilkerson all the best in his new endeavors,”Commissioner Kristin Stephens said in the news release. “The Larimer County Coroner’s Office is in good hands moving forward. With Gary’s leadership experience and the high-quality professionals staffing the office, we know our community will continue to receive excellent customer service throughout this transition period.”
Wilkerson’s resignation also leaves an opening in Larimer County’s Regional Medical Examiner role, which Wilkerson was able to fill because he is a certified forensic pathologist, county spokesperson Michelle Bird said. A county’s elected coroner does not need to be a forensic pathologist, but the appointed regional medical examiner does.
Neither of the candidates running for coroner are forensic pathologists, so the county knew the roles would have to be split no matter who the next coroner is, Bird said.
The county recently hired forensic pathologist Joseph White to fill the regional medical examiner role. White spent five years conducting forensic autopsies at the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City and completed his forensic fellowship with the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner in 2011, according to the news release. He was most recently an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology at Augusta University in Georgia, where he also taught other physicians how to perform autopsies as the co-director of the university’s forensic pathology fellowship.
Wilkerson plans to move to San Antonio, Texas, to be near family, which “is a long-long dream come true for my wife and me,” Wilkerson said in the news release. He will continue to work as a forensic pathologist.
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