A high-profile suspect who died successful Las Vegas constabulary custody this week had hazard factors that marque an inmate much apt to instrumentality his ain life.
David Vander Meer, 49, died earlier helium was owed to appear successful tribunal to look extradition to Utah connected a execution complaint successful transportation with the decease of his woman 20 years agone astatine Zion National Park, a justice announced Thursday.
In a quality merchandise the aforesaid day, the Metropolitan Police Department said a 49-year-old antheral inmate accused of being a fugitive from different authorities was taken to University Medical Center with “self-sustained injuries” and pronounced dead.
Metro, which operates the Clark County Detention Center, said the inmate had been successful custody astatine the jailhouse since Monday, the time Vander Meer was arrested.
Experts said inmate suicides often hap soon aft a idiosyncratic is taken into custody.
Vander Meer had nary anterior transgression grounds successful Clark County, tribunal records show. He held positions of trust, including younker pastor, school counselor and yoga instructor.
A suspect successful Vander Meer’s presumption — without a grounds and with nonrecreational accomplishments — is astatine higher hazard for suicide, said Michele Deitch, manager of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab astatine the University of Texas astatine Austin.
People accused of high-profile crimes besides are much astatine risk.
“Someone similar this indispensable recognize that beingness arsenic helium knew it is implicit and this is not a beingness that he’s acquainted with,” Deitch said. “Jails are unspeakable places, and they’re traumatizing for everybody, but for idiosyncratic who has ne'er seen that oregon been exposed to it successful immoderate way, it’s got to beryllium conscionable feeling similar an alternate universe.”
Clark County coroner’s bureau records amusement that 90 inmates astatine the region jailhouse person died successful the past 12 years. Nine were ruled to person died by suicide.
Dr. Anasseril Daniel is simply a psychiatrist who served arsenic the manager of psychiatric services for the Missouri Department of Corrections from 2000 to 2007. He offered a akin observation, noting that inmates who antecedently were held successful precocious respect successful society, past accused of superior offenses specified arsenic enactment crimes, are peculiarly vulnerable.
“There is simply a implicit alteration successful freedom, societal status, intelligence distress, agony, nonaccomplishment of dignity and astir apt acute anxiousness of what mightiness hap to them,” Daniel said.
The transgression lawsuit against Vander Meer included claims that helium had a intersexual narration with an underage girl.
Metro has not disclosed the nonstop circumstances of Vander Meer’s decease but did merchandise a statement.
“We are committed to maintaining Sheriff Kevin McMahill’s modular of injecting humanity into everything we do, not lone connected patrol but wrong the walls of each of our (Detention Services Division) facilities,” Assistant Sheriff Fred Haas said.
Steps to forestall suicides
Though determination are inactive unknowns astir however Vander Meer died, experts said jails should instrumentality steps to forestall inmates from sidesplitting themselves.
Daniel has written 2 books astir suicides successful jails and however to forestall them. He thinks astir 60 to 70 percent of jailhouse suicides are preventable.
Jail unit should beryllium alert of the imaginable for termination successful high-profile cases and behaviour checks connected specified inmates each 10 minutes oregon less, helium said.
It is besides important that inmates nether termination ticker beryllium placed successful a compartment with nary hooks oregon places to anchor thing to bent themselves with, helium said.
“In a civilized society, we person to support the rights of individuals, adjacent though they are alleged to person committed a crime,” the psychiatrist said.
To forestall suicides, Deitch said, a jailhouse should person a bully intake screening signifier to place if idiosyncratic is astatine precocious hazard of suicide.
If they are recovered to beryllium astatine precocious risk, she said, they should instantly beryllium sent to a intelligence wellness nonrecreational astatine the jailhouse truthful they tin beryllium assessed for contiguous attraction oregon to find what supervision is necessary.
“When inmates are archetypal brought into CCDC they are screened by an EMT who takes basal aesculapian readings including humor unit and bosom rate,” Metro said successful its statement. “After booking, inmates person a afloat aesculapian screening which includes evaluations of their intelligence health. They are asked if they are feeling suicidal.”
The section besides touted its accreditations, saying it achieved re-accreditation done the American Correctional Association successful 2025, with an wide compliance people of 99.4 percent.
“This accomplishment reflects sustained adherence to nationally recognized champion practices successful safety, security, inmate care, unit grooming and law compliance,” constabulary said.
Attorney Stephen Stubbs, who represents plaintiffs successful civilian rights lawsuits against Metro, said the bureau has bully procedures that enactment astir of the time, including monitoring inmates, looking for signs that a idiosyncratic is suicidal and putting inmates into protective custody until they tin person help.
Stubbs has idiosyncratic acquisition with the process.
He said that erstwhile helium was arrested for what helium describes arsenic telling his lawsuit not to speech to police, the Clark County Detention Center treated him arsenic a suicidal person.
A supervisor and caregiver talked to him with the arresting serviceman present, helium said. He denied helium was suicidal, but they said that based connected their training, they thought helium showed signs that indicated otherwise. He was yet released, and the related transgression case, which was filed successful 2018, was dismissed.
“I deliberation they really did that conscionable to messiness with me, due to the fact that I was mad, but I wasn’t suicidal,” helium said.
Prior jailhouse deaths
Between 2013 and 2025, 86 inmates died successful the custody of the Clark County Detention Center’s main installation successful downtown Las Vegas, according to information from the Clark County coroner’s bureau analyzed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Another 4 inmates died successful custody astatine the jail’s installation successful the bluish Las Vegas Valley.
The bulk of the jail’s inmates died of earthy oregon accidental causes, and 7 inmates person died successful homicides betwixt 2013 and 2025. In galore cases, an inmate died aft being hospitalized.
Records amusement that the past clip an inmate was recovered to person died by termination astatine the jailhouse was successful October 2024.
Lincoln Boe, an 18-year-old execution fishy who was accused of fatally stabbing a woman, hanged himself with a expanse successful a ablution astatine the jail, according to his autopsy report. He died portion hospitalized days later.
According to autopsy reports, the bulk of the jailhouse inmates who person died by termination successful caller years person hanged themselves.
Most jailhouse suicides are hangings, said Paul Parker, a advisor who investigates in-custody deaths and a erstwhile Clark County adjunct coroner. Some inmates besides volition leap from a tier to the level below, helium said.
Investigating a jailhouse suicide
Autopsy records and erstwhile quality reports showed nary grounds that immoderate of the jail’s inmates recovered to person died by termination successful caller years were receiving accrued checks for intelligence wellness reasons.
In 2014, 46-year-old Kathy Renee Priest was deemed “not astatine risk” for termination and placed successful the wide aesculapian population, contempt aesculapian notes documenting her past of termination attempts, the Review-Journal antecedently reported. She died by termination 17 days aft she was booked astatine the jail.
Her hanging decease prompted officials to region from jailhouse cells a mechanics connected a lavation basin, described arsenic a knob, that Priest had utilized to harm herself.
In 2018, 51-year-old Lantze Eichinger fatally injured himself astatine the jailhouse erstwhile helium jumped from the 2nd floor, according to coroner’s bureau records. He had a past of aggregate anterior termination attempts, but his autopsy study did not bespeak if helium was considered a termination risk.
After a termination successful jail, Parker said, determination should beryllium a mates of investigations, including an probe to spot if anyone committed immoderate crimes that led to the decease and an interior probe into whether immoderate policies were violated oregon should beryllium changed.
There besides volition beryllium a coroner investigation, which Parker said should beryllium autarkic of instrumentality enforcement but volition gully connected archetypal accusation from instrumentality enforcement.
Parker said each decease should beryllium investigated arsenic a homicide until proved otherwise. That’s to guarantee that specified a decease was really a termination and that nary 1 other played a role, helium said.
Investigations besides are important for broader reasons, said Parker, including to find if thing could person prevented the death, to marque recommendations for practices moving forward, and to guarantee that determination are nary systemic issues.
“They person a work for the well-being of radical successful their custody,” helium said.
If you’re reasoning astir suicide, oregon are disquieted astir a person oregon loved one, assistance is disposable 24/7 by calling oregon texting the Lifeline web astatine 988. Live chat is disposable astatine 988lifeline.org.
Contact Noble Brigham astatine nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Contact Glenn Puit astatine gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Contact Katelyn Newberg astatine knewberg@reviewjournal.com.
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