
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 17, 1993                   TAG: 9306170100
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

CORD FOUND ON NECK OF INMATE

Death row inmate Wayne Kenneth DeLong had a cord tied around his neck when he was found dead in his cell last weekend, a state prison official said Wednesday.

"It was some type of cord material," said Edward W. Murray, director of the state Department of Corrections. "Right now, suicide looks like a strong possibility."

But Murray told reporters the cause of death will not be announced until toxicology reports are completed in four to six weeks. State officials said Tuesday a syringe was found in DeLong's cell at the Mecklenburg Correctional Center.

DeLong, 37, was found dead Sunday morning. He was scheduled to be executed in Virginia's electric chair July 15 for killing a Richmond police detective seven years ago.

Murray, speaking during a break in a Board of Corrections meeting, said DeLong could have gotten a cord from a laundry bag, sweat pants or other personal items in his cell.

"You can use any number of things to take your life," he said.

He said a standard review of prison security was being conducted because of the suicide. State Secretary of Public Safety O. Randolph Rollins said Tuesday that state police are assisting to ensure "complete objectivity."

Joann Royster, operations officer at Mecklenburg, said the 44 inmates on death row generally are checked by prison guards at least on an hourly basis.

DeLong was on probation for a 1978 second-degree murder conviction when Richmond police Detective George R. Taylor stopped the car he was driving June 16, 1986.

Taylor was shot in the chest at close range with a .45-caliber bullet.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB