Samuel Arthur Yenawine
Samuel Arthur Yenawine, 38, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Georgetown County Detention Center in South Carolina on Tuesday night, June 25, 2013, and was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A source close to the investigation said he apparently hanged himself. His longtime attorney, Bill Butler, said suicide was out of character for him and relayed an anonymous caller's account that detention officers had stripped him, pepper-sprayed him and withheld water after a cigarette was found in his cell, which Yenawine reportedly said was not his. Butler said he would have an independent pathologist review the autopsy, and the State Law Enforcement Division is leading the investigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). A source close to the investigation says Yenawine apparently hanged himself, but his attorney, Bill Butler, says suicide was out of character and relays an anonymous caller's account that detention officers pepper-sprayed him and withheld water, and he plans an independent pathologist review of the autopsy.
Reported by: source close to the investigation; his attorney, Bill Butler (family or their lawyers).