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Man awaiting sentencing for murder hangs himself in jail

Posted at 8:43 AM, Nov 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-14 08:43:59-05

Authorities say a man awaiting his life sentence in prison for killing his girlfriend and fleeing the state was found hanging in his Detroit-area jail cell.

Oakland County sheriff's officials said 35-year-old Kevin Wiley was pronounced dead early Monday at a hospital after deputies discovered him. He was to be sentenced hours later for the April 2016 murder of Marie Colburn, found suffocated inside a closet by her mother in Pontiac.

Officials say deputies checked Wiley's cell 22 minutes earlier. They add he wasn't on suicide watch and showed no signs of harming himself, though he left a suicide note.

He was arrested in Radcliff, Kentucky, a few weeks after the slaying and extradited to Michigan. He was on parole for a manslaughter conviction and removed his electronic tether.