A convicted murderer incarcerated in the maximum security unit of the Westville Correctional Facility (WCF) was found dead early this morning in his cell of an apparent suicide, the Indiana Department of Correction (DOC) said.

The DOC identified the inmate as John Byers, serving a 45-year sentence for murder out of Delaware County. Byers was jailed on that charge in December 1988, sentenced to the DOC in August 1989, and had a projected release date of April 19, 2011.

Byers was found hanging in his single cell.

“Though foul play is not suspected,” the DOC said, “the Indiana State Police was immediately notified and called to the scene to begin an investigation with the assistance of the Department of Correction Internal Affairs Division. The LaPorte County Coroner’s Office was also called in to the scene. Prison officials have already notified Mr. Byers’ family members.”

An initial review indicates that all appropriate protocols were being followed, the DOC said, but “the facility will conduct a thorough mortality review to determine if any additional preventive measures could be implemented in the future.”

“We go to great extremes to prevent incidents of this nature,” WCF Superintendent William Wilson said. “Department staff constantly work to identify offenders who are contemplating self-destructive behavior to prevent them from taking such action.”

Posted 6/26/2008