COVINGTON, Ga. — An interim coroner will be appointed to serve until a special election is held to replace Coroner Dorothea Bailey Butts, who announced her resignation Tuesday, May 25.

Newton County government spokesman Bryan Fazio confirmed the coroner "did submit her resignation today" and it will be effective Friday, May 28, at 8 a.m., in a letter to Probate Judge Melanie Bell.

By state law, Bell must appoint someone to fill the vacancy until a special election is conducted to choose someone to fill the position, which is a law enforcement position responsible for investigating suspicious deaths.

"(Bell) will be appointing someone to serve until a special election can take place," Fazio said.

Bailey-Butts posted on her Facebook page this afternoon that she planned to resign from office Friday, May 28, at 8 a.m. "because the people who are supposed to help me carry out my tasks well, are making things very difficult."

"I have put my heart, soul, and even risked my life for this job hoping to serve this county the best that I can. But it’s been very difficult to do my job well when people I work with do everything they can to sabotage me. 

"As a coroner, I cannot do everything alone. I need the entire response team to work together and give each other support. But this didn’t happen," she wrote.

"It’s very disheartening when your passion, your dream job that you’ve been working your whole life for, gets little to no support from the people around you," the posting stated.

Bailey-Butts' term has been marred with controversy at times, including County Manager Lloyd Kerr's request to a state coroner's training board that the board remove her from office, and complaints about an envelope she told county commissioners contained damaging information.

TV news stations also ran a video of her refusing to transport a body from a wreck scene — an action previous coroners reportedly typically had done.

Kerr also alleged in his request to the Georgia Coroner's Training Council that it remove her from office because of a series of alleged actions, including improper removal of a suicide victim — which she denied.

The state Attorney General's Office later told Training Council officials they had no authority to remove Bailey-Butts from office because she had not gone through training courses required for the position when the alleged actions occurred.

Bailey-Butts, who is a registered nurse, said in a posting on her Facebook page that when she challenged then-Coroner Tommy Davis in 2016 and lost "I knew I had to try again." 

"I thought that Newton County was ready for change. It was my mistake to think that the county is ready to accept a woman of color to become their coroner.

"When I won on Nov. 3, 2020, history was made. To become the first woman of color in a position dominated by white men in this county, was such an honor and I will be forever grateful to all the people who supported and voted for me. 

"I didn’t resign because you didn’t have faith in me, I am giving up this position because the people who are supposed to help me carry out my tasks well, are making things very difficult. As a coroner, I cannot do everything alone. I need the entire response team to work together and give each other support. But this didn’t happen.

"What pushed me into this decision? During my campaign, I already felt hostility. I got some of my banners vandalized, I had my tires slashed. But my intentions were good so I still fought hard. 

"When I won, my entire team had so much difficulty transitioning to the position. The old administration won’t cooperate. There were social media threads from other emergency response organizations bragging that they will not help out when the coroner needs them. 

"There were too many scandals and issues about how I do my duties which mainly comes from the fact that I am Black. There were even issues with my office space, my deputies, and other stuff which weren’t a problem with the previous coroner. I even received live bullets in my office. 

"In the earlier cases, some of the other authorities expected us to do everything on our own, even remove the deceased from being entrapped inside of a vehicle. 

"These people wouldn’t accept change for the better. They got so used to the old system. They are intimidated by my capacity, knowledge and experience. This is a classic example of racism and discrimination.

"The people of Newton County had spoken and wanted change, thus electing me as the new Coroner. These people entrusted me with this position knowing that I can do what’s best for our county. 

"We need to speak out and change this system. Because this will only become a cycle if we don’t fight this. This will continue to happen to the next person who tries to make a change for the better. 

"I didn’t fail the people who trusted me, the system failed me."