David Shane Stafford
David Shane Stafford, 42, of Spruce Pine, was remembered by his brother Danny as a good person, and the family spoke of his good qualities, including perfect Sunday school attendance as a boy. On June 5, 2016, he was found hanging in his cell in the special housing unit of the McDowell County Jail in Marion, North Carolina, and was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived. The sheriff's office said he had died by hanging himself and that it found no sign he would harm himself, and a spokesperson said he had shown no suicidal tendencies and had eaten dinner shortly before. Investigators said he had been placed in isolation because other people held at the jail had threatened him. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is helping examine the circumstances of his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide. The McDowell County Sheriff's Office says Stafford hanged himself in his cell and that it found no indication he would harm himself.
Reported by: McDowell County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); news report.