An Arizona man charged in the killing of a southern Utah man died by suspected suicide April 7 at the Kane County jail, according to a Tuesday news release.
Jason Thomas Hager, 39, allegedly fatally shot Church Wells resident Matthew Wayne Young on April 13, 2021. Hager was facing charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a restricted person at the time of his death.
Officials from the Washington County Sheriff’s office and the Utah State Medical Examiner’s office are investigating Hager’s death.
At least three other Utah inmates have died in 2022, and all were reported as suspected suicides.
The Salt Lake Tribune previously reported that at least 31 of the 56 known deaths in Utah jails between 2014 and February 2017 were suicides. In 2014, Utah had the highest rate of county inmate deaths in the nation.
