ELWOOD — Questions still remained Saturday after the suicide of a decorated Iraq war veteran in the Elwood City Jail on Friday.
U.S. Army Spc. Timothy K. Israel, 23, was pronounced dead at 2:45 p.m. Friday at St. Vincent Mercy Hospital in Elwood after an Elwood police officer found him hanging in a holding cell 15 minutes earlier, according to Ned Dunnichay, Madison County coroner.
The autopsy, which was done Saturday, confirmed that the death was caused by asphyxiation due to hanging in the suicide, Dunnichay said. It was also determined that Israel had used the drawstring from his pants to commit suicide.
A dispatcher from Elwood said the police department would not release any information Saturday or today.
The Indiana State Police will be investigating the incident, but had no information on Saturday. ISP Sgt. Mike Burns had previously said that it was routine for an outside investigation team to look into a death that occurred while the deceased was in custody.
Israel was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of domestic battery after an argument with a former girlfriend. However, friends of Israel said he was wrongfully accused.
Israel’s record includes several previous arrests. In June 2003, he was charged with felony intimidation and theft. In April 2008, he was again arrested for suspicion of felony intimidation.
Keith Israel, the veteran’s father, said Thursday that he was considering a civil lawsuit against the Elwood Police Department because he believed no one was monitoring surveillance cameras in the cell. At that time, Keith Israel said he believed his son’s suicide was the culmination of ongoing police harassment and untreated post-traumatic stress disorder.
Timothy Israel was deployed to Iraq in October 2006, serving for a year. His father said he earned a Purple Heart after being wounded by a roadside explosive in 2007.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, young soldiers have been three times more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD than those over the age of 40. In fact, a study from the Rand Corporation posted in April said that 20 percent of returning soldiers have PTSD or depression, and only half of them receive treatment.
In 2007, CBS News (www.cbsnews.com) gathered information from 45 of the 50 states on suicides of war veterans. What it found was that, in 2005 alone, at least 6,256 veterans throughout the United States had committed suicide, an average of 17 per day.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is defined as a failure to cope after a major shock. During World War II, it was known as “shell shock.” About 300,000 soldiers suffer from depression or PTSD, according to the Rand report.
In 2007, President George Bush signed the Joshua Omvig suicide prevention bill into law, providing improved screening and treatment for at-risk veterans. The bill is named after a 22-year-old soldier from Iowa who committed suicide in December 2005 after his return from Iraq.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Don Knight
Discussion
9:52 p.m.: Vet's jail death ruled a suicide
- Local News
-
-
Feds seek Anderson psychologist
U.S. Marshals are searching for a local psychologist wanted for alleged heath insurance fraud and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
-
Nonprofit in dire need of funds
Gateway Association, a local nonprofit children’s service, could close because of financial setbacks, and officials are asking Madison County for help.
-
Bus route expanding to include Flagship
The city is preparing to help transport workers to the Flagship Industrial Park — which should see an increase of about 500 jobs this year — by expanding its bus service to southwest Anderson.
-
Coroner: Man's death at reservoir a homicide
The Saturday death of an Anderson man visiting Monroe Reservoir near Bloomington has been ruled a homicide, officials said late Tuesday afternoon.
-
Hosier urged son to 'think before you act'
Matthew Hosier had been through tough times, his mother said, but was turning his life around. His personality was irrepressible. Hosier drowned on Saturday — his 29th birthday — at Monroe Reservoir.
-
Gas prices expected to fall further heading into summer
Gas prices could fall even more in the weeks ahead, and even if they do rise in July and August, they are likely to remain well below the $4 or $5 per gallon that some observers had feared.
-
Four from Anderson on Ivy Tech search committee
Four representatives of the Anderson community have been selected to serve on Ivy Tech Community College’s search committee for a new East Central Region chancellor.
-
Mostly sunny and cooler
Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast for today, with highs in the middle 70s.
-
Poll question for Wednesday, May 30
Vote daily in The Herald Bulletin poll. Today's poll question can be found at the bottom of the homepage on the right side.
-
Local Briefs: May 30
A compilation news items of local and statewide interest as published in the Wednesday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
- More Local News Headlines
-
