Southern Nevada inmate dies in cell at High Desert

8-11-15 Nevada:

A 44-year-old prisoner serving time in Southern Nevada died on Sunday, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Larry Royal, committed from Clark County on June 19, died in his single cell at High Desert State Prison, the department of corrections said. His cause of death will be released by the Clark County coroner's office.

Royal was serving two consecutive sentences of 96 to 240 months each for attempted sexual assault and attempted lewdness with a minor. ..Source.. by Ricardo Torres

Accused child molester found dead of apparent suicide near Girdwood

9-27-15 Alaska:

A 41-year-old Anchorage man with an active warrant out for his arrest for child molestation, was found dead in a car Saturday near Girdwood, Alaska State Troopers wrote in a dispatch Sunday.

Troopers received reports Saturday morning that the truck of Anchorage missing man Kevin Mitchell had been spotted near milepost 87.5 of the Seward Highway near Girdwood.

While searching the area for Mitchell, at about 11:40 a.m. troopers "located a Chevrolet Tahoe parked in the woods out of view from the Seward Highway."

Officials found 41-year-old Joseph Melton inside the car, dead from apparent suicide.

"He had an active warrant out for his arrest," trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters told Channel 2 News.

Duchesne County Jail inmate waiting for sentencing found dead by apparent suicide

9-24-15 Utah:

DUCHESNE, Utah — A Duchesne County Jail inmate has been found dead by apparent suicide days after he was convicted.

The Deseret News reports (http://bit.ly/1LPeM1h ) that 60-year-old Michael Alan Baker, of Duchesne, was found unresponsive Tuesday in the shower area of the jail.

Duchesne County Sheriff's Lt. Jeremy Curry says the death appears to be a suicide.

Baker was convicted on Sept. 16 of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; lewdness by a sex offender, a third-degree felony; and lewdness involving a child by a sex offender, a third-degree felony. He was scheduled to be sentenced in October. ..Source.. by Daily Journal

Gymnastics coach accused of child molestation found dead

9-20-15 Indiana:

An Indianapolis gymnastics coach who trained two members of the 2008 U.S. women's Olympics team was found dead of an apparent suicide in his jail cell, where he was being held on charges of child pornography and molestation, authorities said Sunday.

Marvin Sharp, 49, was found unresponsive at 8:17 p.m. Saturday in his cell at the Marion County Jail, sheriff's spokeswoman Katie Carlson said in a statement. She said foul play isn't suspected, but that she couldn't provide further information.

"A follow up investigation is being conducted by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff's Office and the Marion County Coroner's Office," Carlson said.

Sharp, who was the USA Gymnastics 2010 Coach of the Year, was arrested Aug. 24 on four local counts of child molestation and three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Federal prosecutors, in a superseding indictment filed Sept. 14, also charged Sharp with nine counts of producing child pornography since 2002 involving six female students as young as 6 or 7 years old.

Golden sex predator swallowed cyanide pill after arrest

9-14-15 Colorado:

Man kept container for cyanide pill

A sexual predator with a lengthy criminal record who was sought for two years on an arrest warrant out of Maryland committed suicide this summer by swallowing a cyanide pill, authorities say.

Robert Lindsay, 51, had been "on the run" since Aug. 8, 2013, until he was tracked by the U.S. Marshals' office to a Golden shop, according to Karlyn Tilley, Golden police spokeswoman.

"It's very seldom when you have someone walking around with their escape clause. It's not something you see every day," said Capt. Joe Harvey of the Golden Police Department.

The evidence is conclusive that Lindsay committed suicide by poisoning himself, and that there was no misconduct by any law enforcement agents, Tilley's news release says.

On July 28, Lindsay tried to elude law enforcement officers when they entered the shop where he was working. Golden police officers ran him down, handcuffed him and placed him in the back seat of a patrol car.

Body Found in Vacant Paynesville Home ID'd as Fugitive

9-9-15 Minnesota:

A body found in a vacant Paynesville home Wednesday has been identified as a convicted and non-compliant sex offender wanted on several warrants.

The Ramsey County medical examiner has identified the body as 28-year-old Ryan Clover. The preliminary autopsy found that Clover died of asphyxia due to hanging, and the manner of death has been ruled suicide.

Paynesville police were called Wednesday to an unknown death on the 400 block of West Mill Street. Clover's last known address was in Isanti County. A property inspector discovered his body during a monthly inspection.

Officers checked the perimeter of the home and noticed signs of entry through a side window on the property. The officer entered the home and found the body in the stairway, police said.

Former New Mexico State star Cody Ledbetter found dead in Texas

9-8-15 Texas:

Cody Ledbetter, who once starred at quarterback for New Mexico State, was found dead in Aledo, Texas, Saturday morning, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Sunday. He was 42.

According to Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler, Ledbtter was found in a shed after an apparent suicide and pronounced dead at 9:26 a.m. ET Saturday. An official ruling on his death will be made following an autopsy.

Ledbetter pleaded guilty in 2005 to having sex with a 16-year-old student in 2004 when he served as a teacher and assistant football coach at Alvarado High School. He was also charged with having sex with another young victim the same year.

School Music Teacher Commits Suicide Before Sexual Abuse Trial, Former Students Say He Was Evading Justice

9-5-15 California:

The apparent suicide of Chris Ling, a violin teacher who was to be extradited to the United Kingdom from the United States to face sexual abuse charges against him, has many of his former students and alleged victims angry, saying justice was not served.

"I'm angry and annoyed, but I must admit that I'm also relieved that I don't have to go to court," a musician and former student of Ling's said to The Guardian.

She added: "This is Ling's final abuse of power. He was such a controlling person. Even his final gesture was controlling, in his own way. To me it's like he was saying: 'I'm not even going to allow the process to go forward.'"

Police say Chris Ling, 56, shot himself in his Los Angeles home on Tuesday as US marshals were getting ready to arrest him. He was facing 77 charges of sex offenses against 11 former students at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester.

New York Police Sergeant Commits Suicide After Sex-Crime Charges

8-20-15 New York:

A New York police sergeant who was arrested this month on charges that he had sex with an underage girl he met online committed suicide on Thursday, the police said.

The sergeant, Joel Doseau, 43, who was suspended after his arrest, killed himself at his home in Canarsie, Brooklyn, a police official said. Earlier, the official had said he died at a home of a relative.

A family member went to the sergeant’s home after he had not been heard from for a few days and discovered his body. The official said the sergeant had inhaled gas fumes and appeared to have died from asphyxiation.

Sergeant Doseau was arrested on Aug. 5 and arraigned in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn on 40 criminal counts, including rape and sexual abuse. He had worked for the Police Department for 12 years at the time of his arrest.

Alleged Child Molester Shoots Himself At Home

9-2-15 California:

SHERMAN OAKS—Former violin teacher, Christopher Ling, shot himself at his house in Sherman Oaks on Tuesday, September 1 as U.S. Marshals attempted to serve a warrant for his arrest and extradition to Great Britain in relation to a high-profile child molestation case.

Ling, 56, was found dead in the bathroom of his home around 6 a.m., soon after a team of officers arrived at his doorstep, said Laura Vega of the U.S. Marshals Service.

An ongoing two-year case has been built against Ling by the Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service as 11 victims, who at the time were between the ages 9 and 15, came forward and delivered abuse statements to the Greater Manchester police (GMP). The majority of the women were Ling’s late pupils at the Chetham’s school of music in Manchester, England in the 1980s. The outside victim was a young girl who cleaned his house.

Ling coerced his ex-pupils into playing naked and further manipulated them by engaging in sexual acts and painfully spanking their derrière’s.

British authorities sought extradition assistance from the US State Department beginning 15 months ago, in 2014, after Ling refused to return to Britain for questioning and ignoring two warrants from a district judge. The US finally agreed to aiding the Britain’s Crown Prosecution Services several weeks back in the course to bring Ling to justice.