The TBI launched an independent investigation after an Alabama child rape suspect died following an apparent suicide attempt at the Cumberland County Jail Tuesday morning.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office identified the inmate as 46-year-old Joey Minshew of Indiana. Correctional officers found Minshew alone in his locked cell around 9:26am November 10, following what authorities described as an apparent attempt to hang himself.
Correctional officers and jail medical staff immediately began lifesaving measures. Minshew was transported to Cumberland Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Minshew had recently been arrested on outstanding warrants from Marshall County, Alabama, involving allegations of child rape. Members of the U.S. Marshals Service Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force and other law enforcement agencies located and arrested him without incident at a primitive campsite in the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area.
Minshew was being held on an out-of-state fugitive warrant with bond set at $750,000.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said it is cooperating with the TBI as investigators examine the circumstances surrounding Minshew’s death.