Child porn suspect found dead at home

2-21-17 Michigan:

Arrested last week, Fenton Township man on sex offender registry faced federal charges

A Fenton Township man arrested last week for allegedly having hundreds of child pornography images on his work computer was found dead at his home Monday afternoon.

According to 911 dispatch, emergency responders were sent to Steven Dale Brown’s home at 1:45 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20. Responders were advised that a 60-year-old male in the garage was in full arrest, possible suicide.

Brown, 60, of Fenton Township was arrested last week and charged in federal court on child pornography charges. His arrest came, according to court records, after a federal search warrant was executed at the home during the early morning hours of Thursday, Feb. 16.

Actor Jay Bowdy Commits Suicide On Facebook Live

1-25-17 California:

Bowdy's suicide occurred days after he was arrested on suspicion of his alleged involvement in a sex crime.

Frederick Jay Bowdy, a 33-year-old aspiring actor from Texas, killed himself in North Hollywood on Monday during a Facebook Live broadcast that was posted to his profile on the social media site, reports the LA Times. The video caused an out-of-state family member to contact the Los Angeles Police Department at around 5:30 AM, said Sgt. Tiffany Ljubetic, but officers could not reach him in time.

Bowdy's body was found in a car near Cumpston Street and Fulcher Avenue. Police believe that Bowdy was already dead when they tried to make contact with him. The video has been removed by Facebook.

On Thursday morning, Bowdy was arrested in Santa Clarita on suspicion of sexual assault. He was released on Friday upon posting $100,000 bail, said Los Angeles County Sgt. Janice Banks. No charges had been filed against him.

Accused child molester found dead in Oklahoma

1-19-17 Oklahoma:

Jenks, Okla. — We have updated information regarding a man accused of molesting an 11-year-old in Jenks, back in 2009.

The U.S. Marshals Service says Russell Wilson bonded out of jail back in 2011 and then disappeared.

"One of our deputies here in the office went to work trying to find this guy and could not find a single trace for years and years," U.S. Marshals Service said.

Fast forward to 2015, when a hiker found a skull that appeared to have a gunshot wound. The skull was located at Arrowhead State Park, near Lake Eufaula.

Air Force colonel accused of sex offenses found dead at his Colorado Springs home

9-26-16 Colorado:

A colonel assigned to Schriever Air Force Base and under investigation of committing several sex offenses was found dead early Sunday at his Colorado Springs home.

Air Force Col. Eugene Marcus Caughey, 46, was due to face a court-martial on Oct. 17 for multiple charges, including sexual offenses, adultery and conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman.

The military announced his death on Monday.

Caughey was assigned as an Air Force Space Command special staff member and had been in the Air Force since 1993, according to an Air Force news release.

Caughey was a former 50th Space Wing vice commander at Schriever, just east of Colorado Springs, before he was removed from his position on June 17, 2015, when the investigation into his alleged misconduct began.

Human remains identified as belonging to missing sex offender

9-20-16 Vermont:

State police say remains belong to Philip Jackman

Vermont State Police confirmed the identity of the remains Wednesday.

Investigators said they belong to Philip Jackman. The remains were found by a hunter off Beard Road in the Town of Orange on Oct. 2, 2015.

Jackman, 21, was reported missing in the fall of 2004 and was wanted on a state warrant for sex offenses.

Police found Jackman’s vehicle abandoned on Beard Road and said he was suicidal and evading capture. Jackman was never found, and the U.S. marshals took the case from state police.

The search for Jackman lasted for 11 years.

Investigators said they do not suspect foul play in Jackman’s death. His cause of death was not released.

The discovery of Jackman's remains effectively closes his case as a fugitive. ..Source.. by Brad Evans

Man dies on day he was scheduled to be sentenced for a felony sex crime

1-22-16 Montana:

A sentencing in a case involving sex abuse charges was canceled Thursday after the man's attorney confirmed he had killed himself.

Bryan Lee Hanson, 49, was set to be sentenced by Yellowstone County District Court Judge Mary Jane Knisely. Hanson's attorney Brad Arndorfer confirmed the suicide.

Yellowstone County sheriff's officers responded about 2:30 p.m. Thursday to a call about a suicide at Sportsman's Park in Laurel.

Hanson pleaded guilty in November to a felony sex charge after admitting he sexually abused a 14-year-old girl by touching her breasts under her clothing numerous times. The Yellowstone County sheriff’s office began investigating in 2014 after the victim’s mother reported the sexual abuse to Laurel police.

The Yellowstone County Attorney's office was recommending a five-year Montana Department of Corrections commitment with 15 years of probation to follow. ..Source.. by Gazette Staff

Hernando County Sex Offender Found Dead

12-15-15 Florida:

(UPDATE 2:30 p.m.) The body of 50 year old Dennis Cox has been found hours after he walked away from his home. There's no word how he died.

(Earlier)

The Hernando County Sheriff's Office is seeking assistance from the public in locating an absconded sex offender.

Dennis Cox, 50, is a registered sexual offender who took off his ankle monitor at 2:17 a.m. this morning and proceeded to leave his home at 9375 Bearwalk Path in Wachee, in the Woodland Waters subdivision, Weeki Wachee.

Police say he left in an unknown direction and did not take his car. He listed as a Violent Felony Offender who is considered dangerous. He may also be suicidal. Deputies are currently searching the surrounding area and have notified nearby schools regarding Cox. ..Source.. by News Talk Florida

Lawsuit filed over deceased Belen officer’s alleged sex crimes

10-12-15 New Mexico:

BELEN, N.M. (KRQE) – A former Belen police officer is the subject of a federal lawsuit filed Monday. The allegations are alarming: having a sexual relationship with a student, but what makes this case even more unusual is that the officer is now deceased.

Mike Esquibel, 45, killed himself in September as a criminal investigation into him intensified. He may be gone, but attorneys say that’s not stopping them from fighting for justice on behalf of a young woman.

For eight years, Esquibel served the community of Belen. He was on the police department and served as a school resource officer. But according to the federal lawsuit, Esquibel had a dark secret, an inappropriate relationship with a student that started when she was in seventh grade.

“He had very serious problems where he abused and exploited his position of authority,” said attorney Michael Hart, who represents the alleged victim.

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.

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.

Death investigation at home of man arrested for child porn

6-9-15 Florida:

NORTH NAPLES, Fla. – A death investigation is underway at the home of a retired doctor who was arrested on child porn charges last week.

Deputies and crime scene were coming in and out of the Village Walk community Tuesday afternoon.

WINK News confirmed the death investigation is at the home of 69-year-old Freddy Koenig. Neighbors say he is the only one who lived in the home.

Koenig was arrested after reports show he tried to print out inappropriate pictures at a kiosk in a North Naples Costco. An employee took a look at the pictures and called deputies.

Reports show the pictures were of what looked to be a 13-year-old girl having sex with a man. Koenig prepaid for the pictures and was arrested in the Costco parking lot.

Koenig bonded out of jail around 2 a.m. Saturday; he had to hand over his passport as ordered by the judge.

Monday his attorney filed a not guilty plea and requested a trial. About 24 hours later, Koenig’s home was roped off with crime scene tape. ..Source.. by WINK News

Man convicted of raping teen kills himself

2-27-15 Tennessee:

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – A Clarksville man sent home to await sentencing after being found guilty of raping a teenage girl has killed himself.

Michael E. Proctor, 37, committed suicide, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jamie Dexter confirmed to The Leaf-Chronicle Friday.

A report about the suicide was not available Friday evening, he said.

Proctor was convicted Thursday of six counts of rape and several other charges on accusations he sexually abused a 13-year-old girl numerous times between July 2013 and April 2014.

The state, represented by Kimberly Lund, had one witness, the victim, who testified Proctor performed sex acts on her on at least five occasions.

Proctor took the stand in his own defense and denied all the allegations.

While his attorney, Edward Dewerff, argued her testimony was not enough to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury believed the victim.

Accused rapist dies while in custody

1-7-2015 California:

A San Marcos man jailed on suspicion of rape died of an apparent suicide while in custody, authorities said Wednesday.

Jason Edward Stey, 27, died at 10:10 p.m. Tuesday, according to San Diego County sheriff’s Lt. John Maryon.

Earlier in the day, the sheriff’s department said Stey — who allegedly beat, choked and raped a North County smoke-shop clerk at her workplace last weekend — was hospitalized after trying to kill himself in his jail cell.

A guard found Stey injured at Vista Detention Center Tuesday afternoon, according to sheriff’s public affairs. He was admitted to a trauma unit at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.

Officials declined to disclose the nature of Stey’s injuries.

Shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Stey allegedly attacked a worker at Dab Central Smoke Shop in the 900 block of West San Marcos Boulevard.

Suit: Montgomery County prison allowed suspected sex offender’s suicide

12-29-2014 Pennsylvania:

The wife of an accused sex offender who committed suicide after the denial of his bail reduction request blames the medical staff at the prison for not properly monitoring her husband’s psychiatric condition, according to a wrongful death suit filed at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Pamela Minnich, of Media, Pa., seeks damages in excess of $175,000 on five counts against the Montgomery County government and Prime Care Medical, a third-party health care company contracted to provide medical care to detainees and inmates at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

According to the complaint, Minnich’s husband, David, was arrested on Oct. 16, 2012, on multiple counts of corruption of a minor, indecent sexual assault of persons under the age of 13 and under the age of 16 and aggravated indecent assault of a child. Unable to pay the $500,000 bail, Minnich was taken to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility as a pretrial detainee.

Having never been incarcerated before, Minnich began to display signs of extreme anxiety, the complaint says. According to the claim, Minnich came under the care of medical staff employed by Prime Care Medical and was placed on a schedule for a psychiatrist.

The complaint accuses the defendants of deliberately delaying the psychiatric appointment and ignored Minnich’s increased warnings that his mental state was deteriorating. He was finally seen on Dec. 3, 2012, but the suit says the psychiatrist deliberately ignored the signs of depression and suicide and refused to place Minnich under any medication or treatment.

Accused child molester found dead in Marion County Jail

12-4-2014 Indiana:

Officials are investigating the death of a Marion County Jail inmate.

Mark Snyder, 37, was found dead Wednesday inside of a jail cell block from an apparent suicide, according to a news release from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. No foul play is suspected.

The investigation is being conducted by the Sheriff’s Office, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Marion County Coroner’s Office, officials said.

Snyder was taken into custody on May 21 on nine counts of felony child molesting and two counts of felony incest. He was also facing three counts of felony child molesting in Morgan County. ..Source.. by Justin L. Mack

Ex-deputy found dead on day molestation trial was to begin

11-10-2014 Georgia:

A former Clayton County deputy accused of child molestation was found dead of an apparent suicide Monday morning after he failed to show up for his trial, according to police.

Phillip Emanuel Richards, then 42, was arrested in March for allegedly assaulting a 13-year-old girl, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. The girl told police she awoke to find Richards attacking her so she ran, climbing out of a window and running for help.

Richards’ trial was to begin Monday morning, according to the Clayton County Superior Court docket. He was charged with aggravated child molestation, child molestation, aggravated sodomy and sexual battery, court records showed. He was out of jail on bond.

Inmate suicide reported at MANCI

10-29-2014 Ohio:

MANSFIELD – The investigation into the apparent suicide of Mansfield Correctional Institution inmate Evan A. Donoho is still active, according to JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

The Findlay man, imprisoned for killing his wife three years ago, died Oct. 21.

Donoho, 29, was pronounced dead Oct. 21 at OhioHealth MedCentral Mansfield Hospital. His body was taken to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to Richland County Coroner’s Office investigator Tom Stortz.

Donoho was a U.S. Army veteran who served a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was not eligible for parole until 2040, according to news reports.

In 2012 Hancock County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Niemeyer sentenced Donoho to at least 29 years in prison for killing his 29-year-old wife in their home, leaving her body in a field south of Findlay, getting rid of the hammer he used in the murder and for the incident in which he downloaded child pornography, according to The Toledo Blade. The judge sentenced him to 15 years to life for the murder, then ordered he serve the maximum prison terms on the other charges consecutively. ..Source.. by Lou Whitmire

Sheriff - Brunswick inmate kills self in cell

9-11-2014 North Carolina:

A Brunswick County jail inmate who earlier this week led police on a car chase apparently killed himself in his cell, an official said.

Michael Rago, 33, was found unresponsive in his jail cell at 11:14 a.m. Thursday, said Brunswick County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Emily Flax.

"He is the victim of an apparent suicide," Flax said in a new release. "During the initial stages of these investigations, there have been no indication of foul play, nor have there been any apparent violation of (sheriff's office) policies and procedures."

Rago and Elizabeth Ashley Ventiquattro, 35, both of Ocean Isle Beach, were arrested Monday after security officers accused the two of shoplifting and returning stolen merchandise for cash at the Walmart in Southport, said Southport Police Chief Jerry Dove.

Scecina coach who died in crash was under voyeurism investigation

10-2-2014 Indiana:

A popular Scecina volleyball coach and teacher who died last month when his SUV crashed into a bridge support was under investigation by the Indiana State Police on suspicion of voyeurism.

Brian Hawkins, 45, was accused of filming sexual encounters with women he met online without their knowledge or permission, according to a search warrant affidavit. The warrant was filed Sept. 22 in Marion County.

The warrant was served the next morning, and hours later, Hawkins' SUV burst into flames after striking a bridge support in the 900 block of South Emerson Avenue. Officials said debris from the crash scattered about 200 feet and Hawkins was killed instantly. He was the only occupant, and flames engulfed the vehicle.

The Marion County coroner's office positively identified Hawkins as the driver of the vehicle, but officials said Thursday that the cause and manner of death are pending further investigation.