New Orleans' coroner says preliminary autopsy results indicate that an inmate found in a holding cell in the city's notorious prison this week killed himself with a telephone cord.
Coroner Jeffrey C. Rouse says Ryan Miller's autopsy took place with an independent forensic pathologist chosen by Miller's family present.
Rouse says a final determination about Miller's death will be made after further investigation. Toxicology results are pending.
Miller had been charged with aggravated rape involving a 12-year-old victim. He was found Monday night with a telephone cord around his neck and died early Tuesday.
Miller's death renewed concerns about the progress of court-ordered reforms at Orleans Parish Prison, where court testimony this week indicates he was left alone despite having expressed suicidal thoughts. ..Source.. by
Orleans Parish Prison inmate hangs himself with phone cord, authorities say
An Orleans Parish Prison inmate hanged himself with a telephone cord while in a holding cell, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office said Tuesday (March 24).
The Sheriff's Office is investigating the apparent suicide of Ryan Miller, 24, who was found unresponsive around 11:45 p.m. Monday in a holding cell in the jail's Templeman 5 facility with the phone cord around his neck, the OPSO said.
Deputies began CPR before Miller was transported to Interim LSU Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m.
Miller had been at the jail on charges of aggravated rape and sexual battery for more than a year, court records indicate. Miller's attorney was not available for comment Tuesday.
Miller's family has been notified of his death, the OPSO said. OPSO spokesman said Miller was not on suicide watch.
"The Sheriff's Office extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Ryan Miller," Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman said in an email statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with you."
Miller's attorney, Bruce Netterville, said that Miller had been arrested for having consensual sex with an underage girl who was the sister of his girlfriend, and that he was negotiating a plea deal.
The attorney said Miller's mother told him Tuesday that her son had informed jail officials that he was having suicidal thoughts and that Miller had been placed on suicide watch.
"If that's the case, what kind of operation are they running over there?" Netterville said. "If that's what (Miller) says he's thinking, how do you put him somewhere where he can manage to kill himself?" ..Source.. by Andy Grimm,
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