Montville Prisoner Uses Face Mask To Hang Himself

MONTVILLE, CT — A prisoner at Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center hanged himself using a face mask, according to The New York Times. Daniel Ocasio, 32, of Windsor, was found by prison staff at 5:07 a.m. Wednesday sitting on a bunk with a ligature from a face mask around his neck.

Prison and medical staff began emergency life-saving measures and called 911. Ocasio was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead shortly before 6 a.m.

Ocasio had been in prison since Aug. 5, when he was held in lieu of $10,000 bond on a third-degree burglary charge, The Associated Press reported.

Following an autopsy, Chief Medical Examiner James Gill has ruled the death as a suicide, according to The Times.

Face masks have been used in prisons across the state as a measure to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

A total of 1,344 prisoners across the state have tested positive for COVID-19, including 243 at Corrigan-Radgowski, according to the Department of Correction. Seven prisoners have died due to complications from the virus.

State police and the state Department of Correction are investigating Ocasio's death.