Scott Vincent Sica
Scott Vincent Sica, 40, died on April 19, 2016 while held at Scotland Correctional Institution in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Prison officials said he was found unresponsive in his cell that morning, and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety first described the death as an apparent suicide. A later autopsy, as reported by the department, attributed his death to autoerotic asphyxiation, which a prison spokesperson said was the first such cause the state prison system had seen. Officials said he was housed alone in close custody with periodic checks and that nothing indicated he had been threatened.
Cause of death, as reported: Died in an accident (disputed). Prison officials first called the death an apparent suicide, but the autopsy later attributed it to autoerotic asphyxiation.
Reported by: North Carolina Department of Public Safety (the agency that held him); autopsy, as reported by N.C. Department of Public Safety (medical examiner or coroner).