Fri, Jan 09 2009
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Published December 02, 2008 04:36 pm - CARTHAGE, Mo. — An inmate who apparently committed suicide Sunday by hanging himself at the Jasper County Jail in Carthage has been identified as Keith A. Curtis, 21, of Carthage. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department released the identity of the inmate on Tuesday.  Identity of jail-suicide victim disclosed w/ report on jail suicide prevention By Jeff Lehr jlehr@joplinglobe.com CARTHAGE, Mo. — An inmate who apparently committed suicide Sunday by hanging himself at the Jasper County Jail in Carthage has been identified as Keith A. Curtis, 21, of Carthage. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department released the identity of the inmate on Tuesday. The Globe learned of the death on Monday, and while Sheriff Archie Dunn confirmed that a death had taken place, he said Monday night that details, including the name of the victim, would not be made public by his office until Tuesday. Jerry Neil, the Jasper County coroner, confirmed Monday night that a death had taken place at the jail, but he refused to disclose any details, including the identity of the victim. Authorities said in a news release Tuesday that a cellmate discovered Curtis hanging by a bedsheet around his neck at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. The cellmate notified the jail staff, but Curtis was already dead, Capt. Gerald Tuck, the jail commander, told the Globe in a telephone interview. “They checked for vitals when they first found him, and there were none,” Tuck said. He said efforts to revive Curtis were unsuccessful, and the county coroner was notified. Tuck said the cellmate left the cell to eat lunch in the day room of the jail pod and discovered the body upon his return. While day rooms in the jail’s pods are covered by video surveillance, there is no such surveillance of individual cells, Tuck said. The department’s release states that a preliminary investigation determined that Curtis committed suicide by hanging. The bedsheet had been secured to a fire sprinkler on the wall of the cell. An autopsy has been conducted, but results are pending, authorities said. Curtis had been in the jail since Nov. 25 on a burglary charge. His bond was set at $7,500. Tuck said the death was the first this year at the Jasper County Jail. He said the last death, in March of 2006, also was determined to be a suicide. 
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