Michael G. Roberts
Michael G. Roberts, 49, of West Seneca, died on January 23, 2007, after he went over a railing at the Erie County Holding Center in Buffalo, New York, and fell about 15 feet, according to a 2017 Buffalo News report. A 2010 ProPublica report described his death as a suicide, saying he dove off the 15-foot railing while sheriff's deputies watched. ProPublica counted it as one of six suicides at the jail in five years and linked the jail's design, staffing and training to those deaths.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide. The news report describes the death as a suicide by diving off a 15-foot railing while sheriff's deputies watched, and ties it to six suicides at the jail in five years.
Reported by: news report on the Erie County Holding Facility (reporters).