The number of COVID-19-related deaths have plummeted while deaths due to fentanyl overdose continued to climb and the number of murders doubled in Baldwin County in 2023.

Baldwin County Coroner Brian Pierce said drug overdose deaths remain the top unnatural cause of death in Baldwin.

"It supersedes vehicle accidents, homicides, suicides, everything," Pierce said.

In fiscal year 2022-2023, Baldwin County had 2,337 people die. Of those, 625 cases met the criteria for an investigation by the coroner's office, meaning the death was unattended by a physician, unexplained, violent or accidental.

The number of overdose deaths from any drug has been steadily climbing in the county since 2019 when there were 22 overdose deaths. That number doubled in 2020 with 53 deaths. That, Pierce said, is when fentanyl hit the scene.

"When it appeared, we saw a big leap up," he said. "Nearly all the additional deaths we see now above the 20s are going to be from fentanyl."

The upward trend locally follows the same climb being seen nationally.

Drug overdose deaths reached a record high across the United States in 2022 and continues to inch upward. The Centers for Disease Control reported earlier this year that fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are involved in nearly 70% of overdose deaths.

This year's coroner report also shows that the number of murders has doubled in Baldwin County.

There were 20 homicides reported in the 2022-23 fiscal year, and Pierce said most were domestic-related. The list includes a quadruple murder in Daphne in February and a double homicide in Spanish Fort in March.

Nationally, the homicide rate sits at 7.8 deaths per 100,000 people, meaning Baldwin County, with a population of 246,435, just about meets that average.

"We've never had more than nine in my tenure," Pierce said. "It may be an odd duck for this year."

Overall, the biggest takeaway from the annual report may be the rising total numbers.

In 2010, the Baldwin County coroner's office investigated 353 cases. Now, 23 years later, that number is 625 cases. By 2030, Pierce said the number of cases is expected to be nearly 900 per year.

As Baldwin County, which currently ranks as the fastest-growing county in the state, continues to expand its population, the strain on schools, hospitals, roads and the coroner's office becomes more pronounced. Pierce said if numbers continue to trend up, the coroner's office will need to expand to keep pace.

The office investigates deaths for visitors as well. In this fiscal year, 64 death investigations were of non-residents.

"As our volume grows," he said, "our overall caseload grows."