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A 46-year-old inmate from Ottawa, Kan., died after using his eyeglasses to cut his throat in the Clay County Detention Center, authorities said Saturday.
A deputy found Eugene A. Hilliard about 7:30 a.m. Saturday during a routine cell check. Hilliard was unresponsive, and the deputy saw a large amount of blood near his body. Police and medical crews were quickly summoned and Hilliard was pronounced dead at the scene, said Sheriff Bob Boydston.
Initial reports indicate that Hilliard broke a portion of his eyeglasses and created a sharp edge by rubbing the glasses on the concrete wall or floor.
The inmate positioned himself in bed so the deputies could not see him during their hourly checks. Boydston said Hilliard was seen awake in his cell at 10 p.m. Friday.
Hilliard had been in the detention center since Sept. 4 and was being held on first-degree statutory sodomy charges. He was recently moved to a segregated cell after other inmates learned of the criminal charges.
The inmate showed no signs of depression or other medical concerns, Boydston said.
