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[stop-polabuse] dieFL11-Slaying suspect kills himself at detention center
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Michael Novick
Nov 9, 1999, 3:00:00 AM11/9/99
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Slaying suspect >>kills<< himself at detention center
>
>
>SUSANA BELLIDO
>sbel...@herald.com
>
>Juan Carlos Farinas, accused of >>killing<< his girlfriend with a gunshot
>at point-blank range during an argument, hanged himself with a sheet from a
>sprinkler Monday in his cell at the Monroe County Detention Center,
>>>sheriff<<'s officials said.
>
>Farinas, 33, was arrested last month after the slaying of Meredith Lynn
>Higgs, 27, daughter of a prominent Key West family and mother of two young
>boys.
>
>Farinas' case was scheduled to go before a grand jury today. A panel was to
>determine whether to indict him.
>
>On Monday morning, a detentions deputy checking on inmates found Farinas'
>body hanging in his cell in the high-security dorm. He had left a note
>behind.
>
>"Part of the note says that he loved Meredith Higgs and he couldn't stand
>what he'd done, or something to that effect," said Scott Daniels, an agent
>with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
>
>
>
>FIFTH SUICIDE
>
>Farinas was the fifth inmate to commit suicide at the detention center
>since it opened five years ago, said Greg Artman, a Monroe County
>>>Sheriff<<'s spokesman.
>
>Farinas, a fast-food cook, was arrested after Higgs' mother reported her
>missing Oct. 18.
>
>>>Police<< said Farinas confessed to the crime. They said he told them that
>he and Higgs had argued the night before. On the day of the murder, Farinas
>asked Higgs to take him from Key West to Big Coppitt. After she stopped the
>van somewhere on Rockland Key, he pulled out a .32-caliber pistol and shot
>her in the head. He then took the body to Sugarloaf Key and disposed of it
>in an old cesspit.
>
>Jealousy was behind the slaying, Daniels said.
>
>Higgs was the daughter of Ervin Higgs, Monroe County's property appraiser,
>and Sandra Higgs, community outreach director of the Monroe County Rural
>Health Network.
>
>Since his arrest, Farinas had threatened to >>kill<< himself several times.
>When he was booked into the jail, he told Daniels that he had tried to
>>>shoot<< himself just before being arrested but that the gun had jammed.
>
>
>
>SUICIDE WATCH
>
>At the detention center, he was placed under a suicide watch. He was taken
>off, but then put back on after he scratched his knuckles against a cell
>wall, Artman said. Under jail procedures, deputies must check on suicidal
>inmates every 15 minutes and give them only paper sheets.
>
>On Nov. 1, a jail psychologist evaluated Farinas and determined he was no
>longer suicidal, Artman said. He was moved to the high-security dorm.
>
>A deputy making hourly rounds discovered his body at 10:05 a.m. Monday.
>
>"We called in the medical staff, but there was no pulse, no breathing,"
>Artman said.
>
>Farinas had cut up a cloth sheet, twisted it and wedged it behind a
>sprinkler that was installed flush to the wall eight feet high, Artman
>said. He used the sheet as a noose. He apparently stood on the toilet and
>leaned forward, hanging himself, Artman said.
>
>"Obviously he made a very determined effort to do that," he said.
>
>The cell happened to be one used at times to keep inmates on suicide watch.
>
>
>
>HEAD'S LOCATION
>
>"That's why the sprinkler head was mounted on the wall, not the ceiling,"
>Artman said.
>
>Since last week, detention deputies had been checking on Farinas every
>hour, the standard procedure in the high-security area, Artman said.
>
>A preliminary staff review has determined that jail staff followed all
>procedures in the case, Artman said. A >>sheriff<<'s homicide detective is
>investigating the death.
>
>"We'll look at this wall-mounted sprinkler head and make adjustments so
>that this won't occur again," Artman said.
>
>>>Sheriff<< Rick Roth called Ervin Higgs to inform him of the suicide,
>Artman said. Higgs declined to comment through an assistant.
>
>Before Monday, prosecutors hadn't decided whether to seek the >>death<<
>>>penalty<< if Farinas was tried.
>
>"Based on what we knew at this preliminary stage," Deputy State Attorney
>Jon Ellsworth said, "it would have been difficult to establish the
>aggravating circumstances required for the >>death<< >>penalty<<. However,
>that aspect was still under investigation."
>
>Said Public Defender Rosemary Enright, whose office was representing
>Farinas: "It's a tragic ending to a most unfortunate situation. My
>sympathies are with all families involved."
>
>Herald staff writer Nancy Klingener contributed to this report.
>
>
>
>
>SUSANA BELLIDO
>sbel...@herald.com
>
>Juan Carlos Farinas, accused of >>killing<< his girlfriend with a gunshot
>at point-blank range during an argument, hanged himself with a sheet from a
>sprinkler Monday in his cell at the Monroe County Detention Center,
>>>sheriff<<'s officials said.
>
>Farinas, 33, was arrested last month after the slaying of Meredith Lynn
>Higgs, 27, daughter of a prominent Key West family and mother of two young
>boys.
>
>Farinas' case was scheduled to go before a grand jury today. A panel was to
>determine whether to indict him.
>
>On Monday morning, a detentions deputy checking on inmates found Farinas'
>body hanging in his cell in the high-security dorm. He had left a note
>behind.
>
>"Part of the note says that he loved Meredith Higgs and he couldn't stand
>what he'd done, or something to that effect," said Scott Daniels, an agent
>with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
>
>
>
>FIFTH SUICIDE
>
>Farinas was the fifth inmate to commit suicide at the detention center
>since it opened five years ago, said Greg Artman, a Monroe County
>>>Sheriff<<'s spokesman.
>
>Farinas, a fast-food cook, was arrested after Higgs' mother reported her
>missing Oct. 18.
>
>>>Police<< said Farinas confessed to the crime. They said he told them that
>he and Higgs had argued the night before. On the day of the murder, Farinas
>asked Higgs to take him from Key West to Big Coppitt. After she stopped the
>van somewhere on Rockland Key, he pulled out a .32-caliber pistol and shot
>her in the head. He then took the body to Sugarloaf Key and disposed of it
>in an old cesspit.
>
>Jealousy was behind the slaying, Daniels said.
>
>Higgs was the daughter of Ervin Higgs, Monroe County's property appraiser,
>and Sandra Higgs, community outreach director of the Monroe County Rural
>Health Network.
>
>Since his arrest, Farinas had threatened to >>kill<< himself several times.
>When he was booked into the jail, he told Daniels that he had tried to
>>>shoot<< himself just before being arrested but that the gun had jammed.
>
>
>
>SUICIDE WATCH
>
>At the detention center, he was placed under a suicide watch. He was taken
>off, but then put back on after he scratched his knuckles against a cell
>wall, Artman said. Under jail procedures, deputies must check on suicidal
>inmates every 15 minutes and give them only paper sheets.
>
>On Nov. 1, a jail psychologist evaluated Farinas and determined he was no
>longer suicidal, Artman said. He was moved to the high-security dorm.
>
>A deputy making hourly rounds discovered his body at 10:05 a.m. Monday.
>
>"We called in the medical staff, but there was no pulse, no breathing,"
>Artman said.
>
>Farinas had cut up a cloth sheet, twisted it and wedged it behind a
>sprinkler that was installed flush to the wall eight feet high, Artman
>said. He used the sheet as a noose. He apparently stood on the toilet and
>leaned forward, hanging himself, Artman said.
>
>"Obviously he made a very determined effort to do that," he said.
>
>The cell happened to be one used at times to keep inmates on suicide watch.
>
>
>
>HEAD'S LOCATION
>
>"That's why the sprinkler head was mounted on the wall, not the ceiling,"
>Artman said.
>
>Since last week, detention deputies had been checking on Farinas every
>hour, the standard procedure in the high-security area, Artman said.
>
>A preliminary staff review has determined that jail staff followed all
>procedures in the case, Artman said. A >>sheriff<<'s homicide detective is
>investigating the death.
>
>"We'll look at this wall-mounted sprinkler head and make adjustments so
>that this won't occur again," Artman said.
>
>>>Sheriff<< Rick Roth called Ervin Higgs to inform him of the suicide,
>Artman said. Higgs declined to comment through an assistant.
>
>Before Monday, prosecutors hadn't decided whether to seek the >>death<<
>>>penalty<< if Farinas was tried.
>
>"Based on what we knew at this preliminary stage," Deputy State Attorney
>Jon Ellsworth said, "it would have been difficult to establish the
>aggravating circumstances required for the >>death<< >>penalty<<. However,
>that aspect was still under investigation."
>
>Said Public Defender Rosemary Enright, whose office was representing
>Farinas: "It's a tragic ending to a most unfortunate situation. My
>sympathies are with all families involved."
>
>Herald staff writer Nancy Klingener contributed to this report.
>
>
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