Zackariah Alexander Pate
Zackariah Alexander Pate, 29, grew up in Portsmouth as the second of four siblings and worked in a kitchen and as a manager at a 7-Eleven. His stepfather, Donald Tye, who helped raise him from age 7, said that his children miss their Uncle Zack. Pate was held at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail in Suffolk, where he was found with a rope around his neck on July 5, 2024, and he died at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital on July 9. The State Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a suicide, while his family says the jail could have done more to prevent it, citing his mental health history and questioning how he could have cut netting from a basketball hoop without help. The jail said it followed medical and security protocols.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). The State Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a suicide by hanging, while his family says the jail could have done more to prevent it given his mental health history.
Reported by: State Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); Western Tidewater Regional Jail (the agency that held him); his family.