James R. Ray III
James R. Ray III, 60, was a former New York City police officer and Marine who went on to earn an M.B.A. and a law degree and worked as a lawyer in Montclair, and his attorneys said he left behind children. On Sunday, June 18, 2023, he was found unconscious in his cell at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, and officials said a sergeant found him and gave him Narcan before he was taken to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His defense attorneys, Thomas Ashley and Brook Barnett, said it appeared he died of a drug overdose, that they did not believe it was intentional, and that they want an investigation into how drugs got into a jail that was supposed to protect him. The Essex County Prosecutor's Office said the cause and manner of death are not yet known, that an autopsy is pending, and that its Professional Standards Bureau is investigating.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (disputed). His defense attorneys, Thomas Ashley and Brook Barnett, say it appears he died of a drug overdose and call for a full investigation, while the Essex County Prosecutor's Office says the cause and manner are not yet known and an autopsy is pending.
Reported by: Thomas Ashley and Brook Barnett, defense attorneys (family or their lawyers).
Sources (6)
- James Ray III dies in jail while awaiting sentencing in 2018 murder of girlfriend Angela Bledsoe
- Ex-Lawyer Who Killed Girlfriend Dies in Custody Days Before Sentencing (Published 2023)
- Attorneys Demand Full Investigation After Man Convicted Of Murder Dies Of Apparent Overdose
- James Ray III, lawyer convicted of murdering girlfriend, dies while awaiting sentencing
- BREAKING: Montclair Lawyer Found Guilty of Murdering Girlfriend Is Dead
- Convicted Montclair Murderer Found Dead In Prison On Father’s Day