Robert Arthur Slaybaugh
Robert Slaybaugh, 57, spent more than 30 years as camp director at Confidence Learning Center in Brainerd, which provides outdoor recreation for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities, and was married for 32 years to Susan Slaybaugh. He died on February 22, 2024, about an hour after being booked into the Crow Wing County Jail, where he was found hanging from his bunk. A medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. His widow has filed a federal lawsuit against the county and a correctional officer, which says he had told jail staff about his history of mental illness and a recent suicide attempt, that he was placed in a cell with a bunk the state had flagged as unsafe, and that the jail had a pattern of suicides.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner ruled it a suicide by hanging, but his widow's federal lawsuit says jail staff ignored his disclosed mental illness and recent suicide attempt, placed him in a cell with a bunk bed the state had flagged as unsafe, and that the bunks were not replaced until after his death.
Reported by: medical examiner or coroner; Susan Slaybaugh, his widow, in a federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers); civil wrongful death lawsuit; civil rights lawsuit.
Lawsuit: His widow, Susan Slaybaugh, sued Crow Wing County and a correctional officer in federal court over his death, alleging neglect and a pattern of suicides at the jail; no settlement or award amount is reported.
Sources (5)
- Crow Wing County Jail suicide triggers wrongful death lawsuit - FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
- Family sues Crow Wing County over 2024 death of man in jail
- Widow sues Crow Wing County over husband’s jail suicide, alleges pattern of neglect
- Widow sues Crow Wing County over husband's jail suicide, alleges pattern of neglect
- Crow Wing County Named in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over 2024 Jail Suicide