Police are investigating the death of an inmate at Hartford Correctional Center and said she appears to have committed suicide.
Sherri Clarke, a 40-year-old New Britain woman who was serving a 25-year-sentence for murder, was found in her cell with a ligature tied to her neck at 10:42 a.m. on Thursday, according to the state Department of Correction. She was the only inmate in the cell at the time.
Correctional and medical staff began treating Clarke, who was transported to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead at 11:33 a.m.
Clarke and her boyfriend, Michael LaBarge, were convicted of the murder of Cornell Johnson, who was found dead in 2009.
Johnson was reported missing in September 2009. Police found his body a month later. It had been dismembered into 15 pieces and his genitals were missing.
Police said Clarke and LaBarge killed Johnson when a drug deal went wrong.
Clarke had entered the York Correctional Institution on Sept. 18, 2009.
The State Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death and The Department of Correction Security Division and the Connecticut State Police are investigating.
