An inmate died of an apparent suicide at the Cheshire Correctional Institution on Monday, according to the state Department of Correction, and officials have identified the man as Philip Richardson, 55, of Middletown.
Richardson was found in his cell around 11 a.m. with a bed sheet around his neck, state officials said. The other end of the sheet was secured to the window bars in the cell. He was the only inmate in the cell at the time.
Correctional and medical staff began medical treatment and brought Richardson to Bradley Memorial Hospital in Southington, where he Philip Richardson, 55, of Middletown. officials said
Richardson was serving an 18-year sentence for manslaughter in the first degree.
The Middletown Press reports that Richardson was accused of hitting his former boyfriend, Bill Farrell, in the head with a clothes iron.
The Hartford Courant reports that Farrell was a well-liked custodian from Middlesex Hospital who sang karaoke under the stage name “Stony VanDamme.”
The state Department of Correction Security Division and the Connecticut State Police are investigating the death.
