A man sentenced to life in prison on Monday was found dead in his Montgomery County jail cell on Wednesday, Montgomery County police said.
Thierry Nkusu, 35, of Silver Spring, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds shortly before 6 p.m. July 4, according to a police press release.
Correctional officers discovered Nkusu during a routine welfare check after he used a bedsheet to hang himself. Correctional staff attempted to render medical aid, but were unable to revive Nkusu, according to the press release. Officers from the police department’s 5th District and fire and rescue personnel also responded to render aid.
Nkusu’s body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, which ruled Thursday that the death was a suicide.
In April, a jury found Nkusu guilty of the 2016 first-degree murder of Maria Mbunga, who was his fiancée and 16 weeks pregnant at the time of her death. Prosecutors said Nkusu staged Mbunga’s apartment to make it appear as though she was killed by an intruder.
This week, Nkusu was sentenced for her death to the maximum penalty allowed by state law: life without the possibility of parole.
At the jail, Nkusu left behind several handwritten suicide notes, according to police.
The Montgomery County Police Department’s Major Crimes Division is investigating.
The National Suicide Prevention operates a 24-hour lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).