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Death at York Women's Prison Being Investigated as Suicide

Thomas Hawk /thomashawk
/
Flickr

Connecticut state police and the Department of Correction said they are investigating the death of an inmate at the York Correctional Institution in Niantic as a possible suicide.

The department said 27-year-old Cassandra Baker of Bantam was found shortly after 7:00 am on Monday with a ligature tied around her neck. She was found by staff conducting a routine tour at the prison.

The Norwich Bulletin reported that she was the only inmate in the cell at the time. Baker was taken to Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London where she was pronounced dead.

The Hartford Courant reported that the exact manner and cause of her death will be determined by the Office of the State Medical Examiner.

Baker had been an inmate at York since May 2014. She was serving a three-year sentence for third-degree burglary.

Mary Lou Cooke is an intern at WNPR. This report includes information from The Associated Press.

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Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

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The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.