“MCSO have you ever heard of a suicide watch?”
According to a 16-page Montezuma County Sheriff’s 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’s question was penned in the opening remarks of a 10-sentence “last will and testament” suicide note he left in holding cell seven.
During booking procedures, the report states that Lyen indicated in a jail-issued medical questionnaire, found inside his cell, that he was “having suicidal thoughts.” The report also reveals the booking deputy didn’t remember if Lyen indicated he was suicidal. After repeated questioning, another deputy recalled Lyen stating he was not suicidal during booking.
“The deputies were trying to dig in to see if (Lyen) was truthful,” explained Montezuma County Sheriff Dennis Spruell. “After (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.”
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.
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 “weak in the knees” with “unsteady heavy breathing” before falling to the floor crying. An email was passed down to the subsequent shift to “keep an eye” on Lyen, the report states.
The shift change started at 9 p.m., and video surveillance proves no one checked Lyen’s cell from 9 p.m. to just before 11 p.m. on the night in question, according to the report.
Dep. Jared Kaime, who reportedly discovered Lyen and initiated life-saving measures, told investigators that he thought “there was nothing that would prevent” his superior officer or other deputies from completing required cell checks during the two-hour time frame.
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.
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, “I’m sorry I hurt and damaged you.” He concluded the suicide note, “I love you all, Edward G. Lyen 6-13-13.”
Initial reports from the sheriff’s 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’s officials.
“The CBI investigates all suicides,” Spruell clarified. “They were on scene the next morning.”
The Montezuma County jail is a 104-bed facility operated under the direction of the sheriff’s office. Lyen was the first inmate under his administration to die while in custody at the jail, said Spruell.
“We’ve had 87 inmates placed on suicide watch this year,” he added. “This incident was extremely unfortunate.”
Questioned if any new jail policy or procedures were put into place following Lyen’s death, Spruell said protocols were reviewed, and additional training was offered to jailors. Two deputies were also reprimanded, he added.
“There were a couple of incidences where policy was not followed and didn’t meet my standards,” Spruell said.
