Inmate is found hanged in city jail

By: TONY MARKS Editor An inmate, identified as 25-year-old Jeremy Ben, was found dead in the Ville Platte City Jail at around 5:47 p.m. on Monday, August 7. Ville Platte Chief of Police Al Perry Thomas confirmed the cause of death was a suicide. According to Chief Thomas, other inmates saw Ben leaving his cell and assumed he was going take a shower. As time passed, however, he did not return to his cell and was later found hanging from the drawstring that was inside the waistband of his pants. “It was all orange,” said Chief Thomas about the drawstring. “It came off of the strongest part of the pants.” After Ben’s body was taken down, other people in the jail could tell the cause of death was a hanging because they could see purple marks around the victim’s neck, according to Chief Thomas. MedExpress and the coroner were called to the city jail, and the coroner pronounced Ben dead at the scene. As Chief Thomas explained, the reason for Ben’s suicide is not known. “People in the jail don’t know why,” he said. An autopsy will be conducted. “Once the autopsy is complete,” Chief Thomas said, “we’ll decide whether or not an investigation is needed. But, according to the coroner, who examined the body at the scene, there was no foul play.” Ben, according to Chief Thomas, was a Department of Corrections inmate and had been in the city jail for a week. He was sentenced to serve 10 years at hard labor with eight years suspended after being convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm and illegal use of a weapon. He was given credit for time served.