At least three Vermont state agencies are investigating to determine if anything could have been done to prevent the apparent suicide of a 38-year-old inmate at the Northern State Correctional Facility last week.
Robert Mossey of Burlington was found unconscious in a bathroom mop closet at the prison on Friday and was declared dead later at the North Country Hospital in Newport. Vermont State Police say it's believed Mossey hanged himself.
Mossey's stepfather, Todd Jimmo, a former Vermont corrections officer, says it would be impossible to prevent all such incidents in the state's prisons, but he wants assurances that appropriate steps were taken.
Vermont's prisons saw a spate of suicides about a decade ago, but none since 2004. Corrections Commissioner Andrew Pallito calls that a phenomenal history.
