An investigation into the death of Sean Howell, who died in police custody, is underway. | Pixabay
An investigation into the death of Sean Howell, who died in police custody, is underway. | Pixabay
An investigation, that results will be released later this summer, will seek to discover the cause of death of Sean Howell, who died on May 9 while in custody at the Kitsap County Jail on suspicion of murder.
Howell, 28, confessed to officers he was the killer of Sabrina Olson-Smith, 23, at his house on Montgomery Avenue. A woman, who had been involved in a prior relationship with Howell, described him as unbalanced and violent, according to the Kitsap Sun.
Howell reportedly told officers he believed Smith was a demon.
After the suspect spent a night in jail, he was observed tinkering with a sprinkler is a special padded holding cell for violent offenders. When officers entered the cell to stop him and move him to another cell, Howell allegedly became violent and resisted, the Kitsap Sun reported.
After a struggle, he was taken to Harrison Medical Center where he died on May 15.
One officer was injured in the incident, but none of the officers involved were ordered on administrative leave, the report noted.
“Once the investigation is complete it will be forwarded on to the prosecutor’s office for review,” Trooper Chelsea Hodgson, spokesman for the Kitsap Critical Incident Response Team, the investigation body of the department, told the Kitsap Sun.
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