A 49-year-old man who ail in April was alone in a pod shower for roughly an hour before a fellow inmate found him pale and without a pulse, hanging by a bedsheet.
Michael Stutsman, who was being held on a parole violation, had brought the sheet and a chair into the showering area in the hours before he killed himself, a report released Thursday showed.
Stutsman had made several trips back and forth into the shower before he died.
There was no water running in the stall when he was found, according to the report.
Stutsman, who died on April 8, was one of four men over a three-month period between April and July. Three of the men — including Stutsman — killed themselves.
Stutsman had been booked into the jail less than a month before his suicide.
The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office released its analysis of an investigation into Stutsman’s death on Thursday, finding there was no criminal negligence on the part of jail staff. Investigations into the other three deaths have not been completed.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately comment on the report Friday morning but Sheriff Michael McIntosh said last week that no deputies have been disciplined in any of the deaths.
According to the report by county prosecutors, Stutsman underwent a mental assessment and nothing indicated he was at risk to commit suicide.
The report says on the morning of his suicide, Stutsman asked a fellow inmate how to get an extra bedsheet.
Several suicide letters were found in Stutsman’s cell after he died.
“Please know I just hurt so bad and can’t go thru (sic) this anymore knowing the mess I’ve made of things,” a letter addressed to Stutsman’s father said.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to take care of you the way you did me.”
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
Adams county jail deaths:
– 4/7/15 Kenneth Conti, 47. Ruled suicide by hanging.
– 4/8/15 Michael Stutsman, 49. Ruled suicide by hanging.
– 5/17/15 Tyler Tabor, 25. Ruled natural death by dehydration. Investigation ongoing.
– 7/8/15 Christopher Cayton, 42. Investigated as an apparent suicide, pending autopsy.
