On Friday, police say Curtis Lee Woodall, 31, robbed a bank, carjacked a woman, shot at people then tried to run away. An off-duty Raleigh police officer chased after Woodall and shot him in the leg.
Woodall was transferred from the Johnston County Jail to Central Prison's hospital later in the day. He was staying in a locked hospital room with several other inmates.
In accordance with prison policy, Woodall was checked on every hour. Despite tight security, he managed to take his own life.
"Medical staff were summoned to this room. Once they arrived at the room they noticed an individual hanging by a bedsheet," says Warden Robey Lee.
Witnesses say Woodall tied the sheet to a grate in a small bathroom stall adjoining the sleeping area.
He was found by an inmate around 3:30 a.m., just 25 minutes after a correctional officer checked on him.
"He was not on a suicide watch, no," says Lee. "There was no indication from the physician or anyone else that he needed to be placed under any suicide watch or anything of that nature."
Woodall was being treated for a gunshot wound he received during a shootout with police in Johnston County Friday. He was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping.
"The staff are certainly upset. Anytime something like this happens -- especially the medical staff -- it bothers them as to what they could or could not have done to prevent it," says Lee.
TheState Bureau of Investigationis handling the case, which is routine.
Woodall did leave a note; the contents are being kept confidential. This is the second suicide at Central Prison this year.
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