ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown man in Lehigh County Jail a little over a week has died by suicide, according to authorities.
Forest Touchberry, 31, was pronounced dead at 3:29 p.m. Thursday in the emergency department of St. Luke’s Hospital, Sacred Heart Campus, according to Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio.
Touchberry was found unresponsive about 2:45 p.m. in his general population housing unit cell, where he was housed alone, the jail said in a release.Lehigh County Coroners Office release
Touchberry was found unresponsive about 2:45 p.m. in his general population housing unit cell, where he was housed alone, the jail said in a release.
An autopsy was conducted Friday and Buglio ruled the death a suicide.
Touchberry had been incarcerated since March 6 on local charges, the jail said. Additional details related to those charges were not immediately available.
Three suicide deaths in 8 months
Touchberry's death is at least the third inmate death by suicide in the facility in eight months.
In August, Arturo Wright, 32, died after being found unresponsive in his cell.
He faced a felony strangulation charge, as well as misdemeanor counts of simple assault, harassment and making terroristic threats, court records show.
On Jan. 12, a Slatington man who was charged with his roommate's murder also was found dead in a cell at the jail.
Joshua D. Moser, 34, faced charges of homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of 37-year-old David Hittinger.
Jail staff found Moser alone in his single jail cell and attempted to perform life-saving measures. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital, authorities said.
