Inmate’s death ruled a suicide

Coroner’s officials ruled Thursday that a county jail inmate found hanging in his cell committed suicide.

A sheriff’s deputy doing cell checks at the Todd Road Jail found Thomas Mallory, 35, about dawn on Wednesday partly suspended by a bed sheet, said Sheriff’s Capt. Ross Bonfiglio.

Deputies tried to resuscitate Mallory but he was pronounced dead within an hour at Santa Paula Hospital, Bonfiglio said.

Mallory was alone in the jail cell at the time, officials said.

Investigators found the sheet tied to an upper bunk bed with the other end around his neck, said Craig Stevens, a senior deputy medical examiner.

An autopsy showed that the cause of death was asphyxia, Stevens said.

Stevens said his investigation showed that Mallory did not leave a suicide note and had not given any indication that he was about to take his life.

Bonfiglio said jail deputies routinely patrol the cells on foot and that Mallory had been checked by jail staff within the previous hour.

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-- Catherine Saillant