Man commits suicide in Ross County Jail

CHILLICOTHE - A Ross County Jail inmate is dead from an apparent suicide, according to officials.

Few details have been released about the Tuesday death Robert E. Thacker, 50, of Pleasant Valley Road. According to the Ross County Sheriff's Office, corrections staff were alerted to a suicide attempt at about 11 a.m. Tuesday and the man was taken to Adena Medical Center where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Lt. Mike Preston said at this point, "everything points to a suicide."

According to Ross County Jail records, Thacker was booked into the jail at 9:33 a.m. Monday after being arrested by the Ross County Sheriff's Office on a single count of domestic menacing, which is a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The sheriff's report on the incident leading to Thacker's arrest was not immediately released.

Online Chillicothe Municipal Court records indicate Thacker had pleaded not guilty at a Tuesday arraignment and bail was set at $2,500 with a 10 percent provision. He was ordered to stay away from the alleged victim and the Pleasant Valley Road home.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been tapped to conduct an investigation of Thacker's death. Spokeswoman Jill Del Greco said he was found unresponsive in his cell.

"Investigations involving a death will generally stay open until the final autopsy and toxicology results are in, which typically take a few months," Del Greco said.

The Ross County Coroner's Office reported an autopsy would be completed Wednesday morning.