Officials: Inmate hangs self in jail cell

Wolfe’s body is being sent to the Arkansas Crime Laboratory.

FAYETTEVILLE — A Madison County man accused of sexual assault killed himself Thursday in the Washington County Detention Center, according to a news release from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Mickey Gene Wolfe Jr., 41, of Wesley was last seen alive at 1:17 a.m., according to the report. He was found about an hour later hanging from a noose he had made from a towel and fastened to a bed, according to the news release.

Wolfe was booked into the detention center in January, said Kelly Cantrell, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman. He was alone in the cell Thursday morning, according to the release.

Central EMS took Wolfe to Washington Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the release says. Wolfe’s body is being sent to the Arkansas Crime Laboratory.

The Sheriff’s Office is doing an internal investigation into the death, according to the release, but there are no plans to make changes at the detention center in the wake of Wolfe’s death, Cantrell said.

“From what we’ve been able to determine so far, all policies were followed by detention personnel,” she said.

Wolfe faced five charges of first-degree sexual assault in Madison County, according to the news release.

Officials with the Sheriff’s Office and prosecutor’s office in Madison County didn’t return messages asking for more information about Wolfe’s charges Thursday afternoon. Cantrell referred questions about the offenses to Madison County officials.

The detention center hasn’t had a similar incident in years, Cantrell said. The last suicide was Dec. 26, 2014, she said.