Police Investigating Apparent Suicide At Suffield Jail

The Connecticut Department of Correction is investigating the apparent suicide of an inmate at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.

At approximately 8:31 p.m. on Monday, January 27, 2014, correctional staff discovered an unresponsive inmate in his cell with one end of an extension cord tied around his neck, with the other end of the cord secured to the bunk bed. He was the only inmate in the cell at the time.

Correctional and medical staff immediately initiated emergency and life saving measures. The inmate was transported to Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, where he was pronounced dead at 9:55 p.m.

The inmate is identified as 42-year-old Robert Chesters of Lebanon, CT. Awaiting trial on a charge of Sexual Assault in the 1st Degree, with a bond of $500,000, he had entered the system on September 27, 2013.

The exact manner and cause of death will be determined by the State Medical Examiner’s Office. The Department of Correction and the Connecticut State Police are investigating the death.