Suicide

A 19-year-old woman who attempted to commit suicide Tuesday while being held at the Washington County Detention Center remained in critical condition Thursday at Washington County Hospital, Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore said. A Washington County District Court judge on Thursday released the woman from the custody of the sheriff's office by placing her on personal recognizance, Mullendore said. The woman attempted to hang herself with a bed sheet from a swinging door that led to the shower area of a dormitory housing unit at the jail, Mullendore said.

 An Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday June 26, and Wednesday, June 27, at First Baptist Church, 7040 Bowers Road, Frederick. The workshop is for caregivers who want to feel more comfortable, confident, and capable in helping to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. The training is geared towards mental-health practitioners, workers in health, welfare or justice, community volunteers, people concerned about family or friends, emergency service worker, counselors, teachers and clergy.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The death Thursday of an 11-year-old boy in Martinsburg has been ruled a suicide by the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, but Berkeley County's prosecuting attorney said the evidence in the case indicates it was an accidental shooting. "Medically, this is going to be listed as a suicide because it's by your own hand, but legally, based on all the facts that we have, it is an accidental shooting," Pamela Jean Games-Neely said Monday. "It is a child mishandling a gun," she said.

A man found dead Friday night outdoors near 8748 Sheffield Manor Blvd. committed suicide, police and the Franklin County (Pa.) Coroner's Office said Monday. Authorities were called to the scene on private property at about 7:30 p.m., according to Washington Township Police and Coroner Jeffrey R. Conner. Authorities declined to release more information.

WILLIAMSPORT -- The Washington County Sheriff's Office was called to a possible suicide this morning in a parking lot on West Potomac Street in Williamsport, a Washington County 911 dispatcher said. The call came in at 8:39 a.m., the dispatcher said. A body was found in a truck and the incident was being investigated, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Maryland State Police said a man died Sunday morning of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while he was parked in the lot of a southern Washington County church. Members of Faith Christian Fellowship were attending church at the time of the incident, according to Washington County Emergency Services. The incident was reported at about 10:10 a.m. Sunday. The church is at 16726 Lappans Road, otherwise known as Md. 68, between Downsville Pike and Williamsport. - Julie E. Greene

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The death of a Franklin County Prison inmate found hanging in his cell early Sunday has been ruled a suicide by County Coroner Jeffrey R. Conner. Conner said the cause of death was suicide by hanging following a Monday autopsy at Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Allentown, Pa. The 45-year-old Chambersburg man was discovered with a bed sheet tied around his neck at 1:48 a.m., 28 minutes after the last time his cell was checked, according to Warden John Wetzel.

Suicide ruled in Wesco death By BOB PARTLOW / Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A man who was found dead with a knife in his chest about a month ago committed suicide, a West Virginia State trooper said Sunday. "We have no reason to believe it was anything else," Sgt. G.W. Bradshaw of the West Virginia State Police said of the death of Ivan Troy Wesco, 24. Pictures of the scene were sent along with other evidence to a state medical examiner, Dr. Jack Frost in Morgantown.

Authorities were investigating the death of a 55-year-old woman whose body was found Saturday at about 10:30 a.m. in the parking lot at the Brownsville Pond off Md. 67, Maryland State Police said. Troopers found the woman dead in the driver's seat of the vehicle, according to a news release. She died of apparent self-inflicted wounds, and no foul play was suspected, troopers said. The body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for a post-mortem examination, troopers said.

The body of a 54-year-old Frederick, Md., man was pulled from the Potomac River at Point of Rocks State Park on Sunday, according to a Maryland State Police news release. Police found a suicide note in the man's home, state police said. The body was taken to the chief medical examiner's office in Baltimore to determine the cause and manner of death. A bicyclist reported seeing the body in the water along the river bank around 4 p.m. Sunday, police said. Carroll Manor Fire Co. firefighters recovered the body, which was in a cove along the river.

Maryland State Police said a man died Sunday morning of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while he was parked in the lot of a southern Washington County church. Members of Faith Christian Fellowship were attending church at the time of the incident, according to Washington County Emergency Services. The incident was reported at about 10:10 a.m. Sunday. The church is at 16726 Lappans Road, otherwise known as Md. 68, between Downsville Pike and Williamsport. - Julie E. Greene

A Hagerstown man who admitted he was trying to “commit suicide by cop” during a May standoff with police was sentenced Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court to serve 17 years in prison. Neil Shawn LaPine, 50, formerly of 12962 Little Hayden Circle, sat silently as Judge Donald E. Beachley read the sentence. “I think it's a tragic situation ... but this is just unacceptable from society's standpoint,” Beachley said. LaPine had been found guilty by a jury in October on three counts each of first-degree assault and reckless endangerment, two counts of discharging a firearm within city limits and one count of use of a handgun in a crime of violence.

The death of a man who was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the head Thursday morning behind the Walmart store along Foxcroft Avenue in Martinsburg was ruled a suicide by the state medical examiner's office in Charleston, W.Va., police said Friday. The suicide happened about 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday, police said. Martinsburg police are still trying to determine the identity of a man, Martinsburg Police Cpl. Scott Doyle said in a news release Friday. On Friday, police released a photo that was found in the man's possession.

This year, about 40,000 people in the United States will chose to end their lives. It's a sobering statistic from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Equally sobering is the fact that it might be someone you know - a family member, a friend, a neighbor or co-worker. The reasons for escaping this world will vary - from genetic predisposition to mental health issues. But regardless of why the decision was made, the impact on those left behind will be tremendous.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's 14th annual International Survivors of Suicide Day is Saturday, Nov. 17, at Hospice of Washington County Inc., 747 Northern Ave., Hagerstown. Light refreshments and sign in begins at 12:30 p.m. The DVD presentation will begin at 1 p.m. and time for discussion will follow. Thousands of survivors of suicide loss gather together around the world on this day for mutual support and practical guidance on coping with grief. For information or to register, call the Bereavement Department at 301-791-6360.

The day Cody E. Butz killed himself, “he kissed me on the cheek and told me he loved me,” his mother, Carin Trecannelli, remembered. That was atypical behavior for him. Usually, Cody licked her face playfully instead of kissing her. It also wasn't normal that Cody, 18, was awake before his mother left for work at 7:30 a.m. that day and that he had made coffee for her. Later in the day, he did all of his laundry. “He was saying goodbye to me and I didn't realize it,” Carin said.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among West Virginians between the ages of 15 and 24, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin told more than 300 Hedgesville High School students at an assembly Monday. He said it's a “heartbreaking” statistic. Earlier Monday in Charleston, W.Va., Tomblin signed a proclamation proclaiming this week as Suicide Prevention Week in the Mountain State. It is also National Suicide Prevention Week. According to Tomblin, a suicide occurs every 14 seconds in the United States.

Smithsburg Library will host a Suicide Awareness Seminar at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the library, 66 W. Water St., Smithsburg. Suicide survivor Jim Atkisson will discuss on how you can help yourself or others. Call Ashley Hutson, branch manager of Smithsburg Library, at 301-824-7722 to sign up or just walk in. The Smithsburg Library is a branch of the Washington County Free Library.  

A man was taken into custody without incident Monday night after he called a suicide hot line from his Greendale Drive home, just off Jefferson Boulevard east of Hagerstown, according to Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore. The man, who was not identified, was taken to Meritus Medical Center for evaluation, Mullendore said. The man lives by himself on Greendale Drive, Mullendore said. Two sheriff's deputies responded to the home at 5:09 p.m. for a man who called a veterans' suicide hot line, Mullendore said.