A double-murderer committed suicide at the Utah State Prison last month, the Utah Medical Examiner has ruled in an autopsy report.
Michael Moore, an inmate whose access to computers inside the prison prompted an investigation, hanged himself with a bedsheet four days after guards moved him to a maximum-security cell, Salt Lake County Sheriff's detectives have preliminarily concluded.The transfer from medium-security was initiated after sensitive documents were reportedly found on his prison-issue computer.
Some friends say Moore was despondent after the move and disheartened that a parole date likely would be lost after the computer investigation was complete.
Others are convinced foul play preceded the death. Moore, who was serving two consecutive life sentences for the 1982 murders at the Log Haven restaurant in Mill Creek Canyon, received an unusually early 2004 parole date last year with the blessing of his victims' families.
Three hours after a routine bed check on April 13, correctional officers discovered Moore hanging by the neck, investigators said. Resuscitation efforts failed, prison officials said.
Moore apparently tied the bedsheet to an air vent above a toilet. His hands were free, and he could have stepped onto a bed or the toilet to save his life, said homicide detective Todd Park.
No suicide note has been found, and Moore apparently told no one his intentions. Medical examiners found no body trauma to indicate Moore resisted death, and the inmate's blood was free from alcohol or drugs, Park said.
Also, a video camera on the maximum-security Uinta cell block showed that no one entered or left Moore's cell at the time of his death, Park said.
An internal prison investigation continues into inmate use of computers, including Moore's widespread access to digital documents in his office at Utah Correctional Industries, a $12-million-a-year public-private business managed by the prison but largely operated by inmates.