Richard A. Kempf
Richard Kempf, 31, of Washington, Pennsylvania, died on February 2, 2015, at the Washington County Correctional Facility, about 20 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. Guards last spoke with him around 5:30 p.m. that Monday and found him unresponsive in his cell about two hours later, hanging from a sheet. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco and Washington police said the cause of death was still under investigation. His family filed a wrongful death suit against the county in May 2015. His mother's lawsuit says the county's handling of his death was wrong.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The county coroner's investigation was still pending and the family's wrongful death lawsuit against the county says he was found hanging from a sheet in his cell, so the official account is contested by the family.
Reported by: Washington County Coroner Tim Warco (medical examiner or coroner); his family's wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family sued Washington County in May 2015 over his death in the county jail, and the reporting gives no amount paid.