Murder Victim's Widow Commits Suicide in Jail

A troubled woman widowed when her husband was murdered at their Soquel hills home last year apparently committed suicide early Wednesday while in custody at the Santa Cruz County Jail, the Sheriff's Office reported.

Amanda Sloan, 30, was found dead in her cell around 4:25 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Sheriff's Office. 

Sloan's death is the fifth at Santa Cruz County Jail since August and the second apparent suicide.

Sloan has been held in County Jail since Dec. 13, when she was arrested on suspicion of shooting at a peace officer, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, discharging a gun from a vehicle, reckless driving while evading police and other charges. 

Sloan's husband, Jeff Smith, was fatally shot at a Nicasio Way residence in the Soquel Hills on Aug. 16. Smith was found dead in the driveway. Sloan and Smith had married in 2008 and had a young son together.

Although investigators have named a man, Colin Tinsdale, as a suspect in the killing, Tisdale has not been charged.

Sloan had had trouble with the law in the past, but her run-ins with police escalated in the months following her husband's death. She reportedly shot at a Capitola police officer in November and led authorities on a high-speed chase in the Soquel hills. 

A month later, Sloan got into a standoff with sheriff's deputies at the Nicasio Way home where her husband died. Sloan fired on deputies and pointed a gun at herself before a deputy shot her in the leg with a rifle.

Sloan had previously said she wanted to commit "suicide by cop," according to media reports. 

Sloan's last court date was June 21. Her case was set to go to trial in the fall, according to a report in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. 

She was alone in her jail cell when she died, according to the Sheriff's Office. Authorities did not release any information about her cause of death, only saying an autopsy would be performed. 

Four other inmates have died in while in custody in the past year. A 41-year-old Soquel man held in County Jail hanged himself in his cell in January. Two other inmates died of complications from drug use and a fourth suffered a cardiac arrest.