Joshua Scott Novak
Joshua Scott Novak, 27, was formerly of Highland Park, Indiana, and his mother, Denise Chapman, has been asked to serve as special administrator of his estate. He was held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility in Joliet, Illinois, where the Will County Sheriff's Office said he hanged himself with a bed sheet in his cell and was found during a headcount on June 13, 2019. He was taken to a Joliet hospital, where he died on June 18, and the death certificate lists it as a suicide. His family's lawyers have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the sheriff's office and the jail, and the Will/Grundy Major Crimes Task Force has been investigating the death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The sheriff's office and the death certificate say he hanged himself, but his family's wrongful death lawsuit against the sheriff's office and the jail alleges neglect that led to his death.
Reported by: Will County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); Will County death certificate (medical examiner or coroner); his family's wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Patch (reporters).
Lawsuit: His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Will County Sheriff's Office and the Will County jail.