CA- Molestation Suspect Hangs Himself in Jail

1-2-1998 California:

A suspected child molester hanged himself in the jail of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Lancaster station on New Year’s Eve, the same day deputies said he had been arrested on a warrant stemming from a child abuse accusation.

Sheriff’s deputies identified the inmate as Michael Quackenbush, 33, of Lancaster.

Quackenbush, who was arrested at his home at 9 a.m. by deputies in the Juvenile Investigations Bureau, was booked at the Lancaster station on suspicion of lewd acts with a child, according to sheriff’s deputies.

At 8 p.m., jail personnel found Quackenbush hanging from a bedsheet tied to a ceiling vent in his one-man cell, said Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Joan Raber.

A woman contacted at Quackenbush’s home on West Avenue E identified herself as his wife and said Quackenbush was an unemployed construction worker. He was the stepfather to her two children, she said.

Asked about the child molestation allegation, she said: “That did not happen. It was just a malicious lie.”

No other details concerning the charges were available Thursday. ..News Source.. by Solomon Moore

Alleged child molester commits suicide in Macomb

1-31-1997 Illinois:

Released on bond from Knox County Jail, Ralph E. Frakes ended any future court action against him with a self-inflicted .12 gauge shotgun blast to the head in the parking lot of McDonough District Hospital. Frakes, 68, of Williamsfield, Ill., left a suicide note.

"No witnesses; no one heard it," Larry Jameson, McDonough County Coroner, said in a phone interview Wednesday. "A clergyman found him."

According to Knox County State's Attorney Paul Manageri, three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse were filed against Frakes on Jan. 7. According to the Knox County Circuit Clerk's Office, Frakes was arrested on Jan. 10 after a warrant for his arrest was issued the previous day. Frakes posted $5,000 bond for his $50,000 bail.

"It's a tragic event for all individuals involved," Manageri said.

Manageri also said the state's attorney's office was prepared to assert two additional charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse Wednesday had he not taken his life. The recently dismissed charges related to two separate females, both of whom are minors, Manageri said.

Macomb police said they have deemed Frakes' death a suicide.

"I think our investigation is concluded. As far as we're concerned, that's what it is," Detective Robert Canavit, a Macomb police investigator, said Thursday.

Jameson said Frakes arranged his funeral services at the Clugston-Tibbitts Funeral Home in Macomb barely an hour before he committed suicide. Frakes had been at Clugston-Tibbitts at 2 p.m. before being found dead at approximately 3 p.m.

"He had gone to some of the local funeral homes, set up a service and then he went to the hospital," Jameson said.

According to Manageri, each count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a class 2 felony, carries a prison sentence of 3 to 7 years. With the three counts, if Frakes was found guilty, he could have been placed in prison for 21 years.

According to Frakes' obituary in The Macomb Journal yesterday, Frakes was a World War II veteran and worked as a brick mason and farmer until his retirement in 1989. ..more.. by Joseph Poulos

Man suspected of killing kin is found hanged in jail

12-26-1997 Illinois

Two days after being accused of murdering four of his family members with an ax, Kenneth White was found hanged to death in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center early Christmas Day.

White, 42, imprisoned for the last 13 months on a parole violation for failing to register as a sex offender, had tied a bed sheet to sprinkler pipes, police said.

White was pronounced dead at 5:56 a.m. at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center. His death was consistent with a hanging and was ruled a suicide, the Cook County medical examiner's office said. Prison representatives could not be reached for ... ..more.. by High Beam

Alleged child molester commits suicide in Macomb

1-31-97 Michigan:
Released on bond from Knox County Jail, Ralph E. Frakes ended any future court action against him with a self-inflicted .12 gauge shotgun blast to the head in the parking lot of McDonough District Hospital. Frakes, 68, of Williamsfield, Ill., left a suicide note.

"No witnesses; no one heard it," Larry Jameson, McDonough County Coroner, said in a phone interview Wednesday. "A clergyman found him."

According to Knox County State's Attorney Paul Manageri, three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse were filed against Frakes on Jan. 7. According to the Knox County Circuit Clerk's Office, Frakes was arrested on Jan. 10 after a warrant for his arrest was issued the previous day. Frakes posted $5,000 bond for his $50,000 bail.

"It's a tragic event for all individuals involved," Manageri said.

Manageri also said the state's attorney's office was prepared to assert two additional charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse Wednesday had he not taken his life. The recently dismissed charges related to two separate females, both of whom are minors, Manageri said.

Macomb police said they have deemed Frakes' death a suicide.

"I think our investigation is concluded. As far as we're concerned, that's what it is," Detective Robert Canavit, a Macomb police investigator, said Thursday.

Jameson said Frakes arranged his funeral services at the Clugston-Tibbitts Funeral Home in Macomb barely an hour before he committed suicide. Frakes had been at Clugston-Tibbitts at 2 p.m. before being found dead at approximately 3 p.m.

"He had gone to some of the local funeral homes, set up a service and then he went to the hospital," Jameson said.

According to Manageri, each count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a class 2 felony, carries a prison sentence of 3 to 7 years. With the three counts, if Frakes was found guilty, he could have been placed in prison for 21 years.

According to Frakes' obituary in The Macomb Journal yesterday, Frakes was a World War II veteran and worked as a brick mason and farmer until his retirement in 1989. ..more.. by Joseph Poulos