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DRAPER — A Utah State Prison inmate was found dead in his cell Monday after an apparent suicide.
At 11:05 a.m., an inmate returned from the chapel and found the door to his cell closed and locked. Typically, cell doors remain open while inmates are involved in daily activities, according to Utah Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke Adams.
Paper was covering the window to the cell, and the inmate couldn't make contact with his cellmate, Frederick Ivan White, 65, who was inside. Officers knocked the paper loose, revealing White hanging from the top bunk.
Officers who entered the cell found White unresponsive. They administered CPR and took him to the prison infirmary, where he was pronounced dead.
White pleaded guilty in 2002 to two counts of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. He was released on parole on March 15, 2011, and returned to prison on Dec. 31, 2013, on a parole violation after new allegations of sexual abuse surfaced.
White's parole was revoked last month following a hearing before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, and his next hearing was set for June 1, 2016.
The circumstances surrounding White's suicide remain under investigation. But an initial review shows the prison followed proper procedures prior to the death, Adams said. The Unified Police Department is handling the case, which will remain active pending an autopsy by the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office.
