Jeffrey Sahl Ferris
Jeffrey Sahl Ferris, 54, was a former emergency medical technician for the Belcourt community of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, and a descendant of the tribe though not an enrolled member. He died on May 17, 2021, minutes after a jury returned a verdict, in a federal courtroom at the Quentin N. Burdick U.S. Courthouse in Fargo while held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. The Marshals Service says he slit his own throat with an object that appeared to be a pen or plastic shank. Native News Online reported, citing anonymous sources, that he grabbed an envelope opener, and the two accounts differ on the object used.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide. The United States Marshals Service says Ferris slit his throat with an object that appeared to be a pen or plastic shank, and anonymous sources told Native News Online he grabbed an envelope opener after a judge denied his request for release.
Reported by: United States Marshals Service (the agency that held him); Native News Online (reporters).