A man who was arrested on a complaint of domestic violence on May 5th was found hanging yesterday in his cell at the Lethem Police Station.
The police in a statement yesterday said that on May 5, 2024, they received a call from a concerned resident reporting that Carl Benedict, 37, was assaulting his wife.
“Ranks responded to the report, and Carl was arrested and escorted to the Lethem Police Station. At the station, his clothes were removed, and he was placed in a cell by himself with only shorts on, while his wife’s statement was being taken. She was also issued with a medical certificate and escorted to seek medical attention for her injuries.
“At about 07:45 hrs. on Monday, May 6, 2024, the ranks entered the lockups and discovered Carl hanging by his neck with the ‘waist band’ of his shorts, which he had removed and tied to the metal vent on the lockups’ southern wall”, the police said.
The scene was processed and photographed by crime scene technicians.
The Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating. There have been several cases of hangings in police stations over the years.
Benedict was a driver of St Ignatius Village. He and his wife had been together for 18 years. However, during their relationship, the police say that the wife was subjected to constant physical abuse. These incidents were reported to the police at the Lethem Police Station, and Benedict was charged and brought to court.
On May 16, 2023, he was found guilty of one of the charges and was fined $10,000.
