LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – An inmate at the Liberty County Jail killed himself Tuesday.
The Liberty County Sheriff's Office said Kenneth Ray Thornhill, 48, was found guilty of delivery and manufacture of a controlled substance shortly after 11 a.m. Investigators said he was going to be sentenced at 1 p.m.
Authorities said when jail employees returned from lunch, they found the inmate hanging in a holding cell adjacent to the court room.
"He took off his dress blue shirt and knotted one end around a jail cell bar and the other one around his neck, about 6 feet off the ground and then just bent his knees and went down and asphyxiated himself, apparently," Capt. Ken DeFoor, with the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, said. "Of course, I'm retired from the Houston Police Department after about 30 years, and over the years, of course, inmates do this. They do commit suicide."
According to the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, the court bailiff followed state jail procedures in removing the inmate's belt and personal property.
Deputies said he asked to speak with his attorney and was assured he would be able to do so when court was back in session. They said he gave no indication of suicidal intentions.
Thornhill's death will be investigated by the Texas Rangers.