According to a 16-page Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office incident report recently obtained by the Cortez Journal from a concerned citizen, Edward G. Lyen posed the question on June 13, the same day he reportedly committed suicide while in custody at the Montezuma County jail. Lyen\u2019s question was penned in the opening remarks of a 10-sentence \u201clast will and testament\u201d suicide note he left in holding cell seven.<\/p>\n
During booking procedures, the report states that Lyen indicated in a jail-issued medical questionnaire, found inside his cell, that he was \u201chaving suicidal thoughts.\u201d The report also reveals the booking deputy didn\u2019t remember if Lyen indicated he was suicidal. After repeated questioning, another deputy recalled Lyen stating he was not suicidal during booking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe deputies were trying to dig in to see if (Lyen) was truthful,\u201d explained Montezuma County Sheriff Dennis Spruell. \u201cAfter (Lyen) indicated he was not upset, he was not placed on suicide watch, but he was placed in a holding cell close to booking where he could be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edward Lyen was reportedly booked at the jail at 10:13 a.m. on the day in question for a single count of sexual assault of a child. Approximately 12 hours later, the incident report indicates that Lyen was discovered unconscious inside a holding cell with a jail-issued bed sheet knotted around his neck and a towel over his head. He reportedly anchored the bed sheet to the toilet and draped it over a privacy wall.<\/p>\n
The incident report reveals that Lyen was visibly shaken at an unknown time earlier in the day. Upon learning that his bond had been set at $50,000, deputies reported that Lyen was \u201cweak in the knees\u201d with \u201cunsteady heavy breathing\u201d before falling to the floor crying. An email was passed down to the subsequent shift to \u201ckeep an eye\u201d on Lyen, the report states.<\/p>\n
The shift change started at 9 p.m., and video surveillance proves no one checked Lyen\u2019s cell from 9 p.m. to just before 11 p.m. on the night in question, according to the report.<\/p>\n
Dep. Jared Kaime, who reportedly discovered Lyen and initiated life-saving measures, told investigators that he thought \u201cthere was nothing that would prevent\u201d his superior officer or other deputies from completing required cell checks during the two-hour time frame.<\/p>\n
At 11:22 p.m., Lyen was pronounced dead at Southwest Memorial Hospital. Montezuma County Coroner Charlie Rosenbaugh listed the death as suicide by asphyxiation.<\/p>\n
Also contained in the suicide note, Lyen apologized to his brother with a request not to be cremated. He also gave instructions on how to address various personal finances, and he apologized to an unknown juvenile, presumably the victim, stating, \u201cI\u2019m sorry I hurt and damaged you.\u201d He concluded the suicide note, \u201cI love you all, Edward G. Lyen 6-13-13.\u201d<\/p>\n
Initial reports from the sheriff\u2019s office stated the Colorado Bureau of Investigations was called in to examine the death, but the incident report states the probe was handled internally by sheriff\u2019s officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe CBI investigates all suicides,\u201d Spruell clarified. \u201cThey were on scene the next morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Montezuma County jail is a 104-bed facility operated under the direction of the sheriff\u2019s office. Lyen was the first inmate under his administration to die while in custody at the jail, said Spruell.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had 87 inmates placed on suicide watch this year,\u201d he added. \u201cThis incident was extremely unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Questioned if any new jail policy or procedures were put into place following Lyen\u2019s death, Spruell said protocols were reviewed, and additional training was offered to jailors. Two deputies were also reprimanded, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a couple of incidences where policy was not followed and didn\u2019t meet my standards,\u201d Spruell said.<\/p>\n