SUFFIELD — State police and the Department of Correction are investigating the apparent suicide of an inmate at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, officials said.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Friday, staff at the prison found 52-year-old Luis Rodriguez, of New Britain, unresponsive in his cell with a ligature tied around his neck and secured to the top bunk, the Department of Correction said in a statement. Rodriguez was the only person in his cell.
Medical aid was administered and Rodriguez was taken to Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 8:58 p.m.
Rodriguez had been an inmate at MacDougall-Walker since Aug. 1 and was facing charges of first-degree sexual assault, officials said.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the exact cause and manner of Rodriguez’s death, police said.