Erie County jail inmate dies in hanging

More stories from the Erie County Sheriff's OfficeUpdate (6:20 p.m.) PERKINS TWP. — An inmate at the Erie County jail died in an apparent suicide on Wednesday.Sheriff Paul Sigsworth said the inmate was in a medical isolation cell, because of a drug withdrawal, at the time. He said that cell is directly in front of a nurse's station.A nurse saw the inmate in his bunk around 11:20 a.m. and then left that area to attend to other inmates, Sigsworth said. Corrections officers delivering meal trays around 11:50 a.m. were the first to see that the inmate had hung himself using a bed sheet.Jail staff began CPR while an ambulance was en route, Sigsworth said. The inmate was later pronounced dead at Firelands Regional Medical Center.Sigsworth said an autopsy is anticipated."At this point, it appears to be a very tragic suicide," Sigsworth said. "We're still trying to determine what may have led to this. That's part of an ongoing investigation."The sheriff's office was working to notify the inmate's family on Wednesday. While the sheriff's office is not yet identifying the inmate, Sigsworth said he was a Turkish citizen living legally in the U.S.Sigsworth said he had been in custody on felony charges at the jail since Tuesday.While jail workers have handled attempted suicides in the past, Sigsworth said the fatality on Wednesday represents the first inmate to die in such a way at the jail in approximately 20 years. He credited the jail staff with the low numbers at the Erie County jail."Unfortunately, these situations do occur from time to time in jails and prisons," he said. "The corrections offices on duty were pretty shaken by this."Original story (1:50 p.m.): PERKINS TWP. — An inmate at the Erie County jail died after hanging himself in a cell on Wednesday.Sheriff Paul Sigsworth said that a corrections officer at the jail found the inmate shortly before noon. The inmate had been in a cell by himself for medical purposes, he said.Sigsworth said Perkins Township firefighters transported the inmate to Firelands Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Sigsworth said an autopsy is anticipated.The sheriff's office was working to notify the inmate's family on Wednesday afternoon. While the office is not yet identifying the inmate, Sigsworth said he is from out of state.While jail workers have handled attempted suicides in the past, Sigsworth said the fatality on Wednesday represents the first inmate to die in such a way at the jail in approximately 20 years.More stories from the Erie County Sheriff's OfficeFile Photo, Erie County Jail