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Death at York Women's Prison Being Investigated as Suicide

Thomas Hawk /thomashawk
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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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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.