Accused murderer suicidal; Tried twice to kill himself, court told Final Edition

• Published in: Spectator (Hamilton. 1994)
• Main Author: Barbara Brown, Justice Reporter
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hamilton, Ont Torstar Syndication Services, a Division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited 19.09.2002
• ISSN: 1189-9417

[Mike Maloney] kept checking on [David Nametka] at regular intervals and could see him talking on the phone. Shortly before 2 p.m., he heard an odd scratching noise coming from the holding room, but Nametka was nowhere in sight. "Are you still on the phone? Is everything all right?" the detective asked. Nametka assured him everything was fine. But Maloney's intuition told him to open the door and look for himself. He found Nametka had looped a section of the telephone cord around the upper door hinge and had the receiver end wrapped around his neck. He was leaning to the side and trying to hang himself by the cord. Maloney looked in on Nametka again about five minutes after the suicide attempt. This time, he found the prisoner partially undressed and attempting to twist the arms of his jail-issue jumper into a makeshift rope.