The inmate found dead in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail last week committed suicide, the medical examiner’s office confirmed Tuesday.
Willis E. Coley, who hanged himself last week in his cell, confessed to sharing child pornography when authorities raided his Alexandria apartment, according to federal court documents. Court records show he made no effort to be released, and a jail official described him as a docile inmate.
He had come under scrutiny after an undercover Charlottesville detective used a peer-to-peer file-sharing network to downloaded illicit pornographic computer files from Coley, according to documents.
Movies the detective downloaded depicted graphic sexual acts, including adults having sex with children, court records show. Officials were able to tie Coley, 27, to the images both by his IP address — a unique number that identifies an internet connection — and by his username on a messenger service, which he used as a password for his folders on the peer-to-peer network, according to a court document.
On November 17, Charlottesville police and federal agents raided his apartment. He confessed and told authorities where to find his pornography, court records show. He was charged with interstate distribution of child pornography. Coley had been a specialist in the U.S. Army who worked as a photographer and reporter.
The federal government farms out the detention of prisoners awaiting trial to local officials. Coley was held at the local jail as part of an intergovernmental agreement, said Steve Carter, supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal.
“He was a quiet inmate, very manageable, very respectful,” said Lt. Col. Roland Beauford, the jail’s deputy superintendent. “[He] didn’t cause any trouble.”
At the jail, Coley was put in segregation, though the exact reason wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday. Guards make at least two random rounds of the segregated inmates per hour, Beauford said.
In the middle of the night, Coley was able to avoid those guards long enough to fasten one end of his standard-issue sheet to his bunk and the other end to his neck, Beauford said. The guards found Coley at 12:54 a.m. Aug. 2, Beauford said.
Medics were called, but Coley was pronounced dead, said Kristin Szakos, Charlottesville city councilor and chairwoman of the jail’s board. The medical examiner’s office has ruled the death a suicide by hanging.
Jail officials and the Albemarle County police are conducting parallel investigations, officials said. The Marshals Service is conducting its investigation in conjunction with the county investigation, Carter said. The jail board will also almost certainly review the matter at its next meeting, Szakos said.
Suicides are rare at the jail, with the last successful attempt roughly five years ago, Beauford said.
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