Man Convicted in Teen’s Slaying Commits Suicide in Prison

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — A man convicted in the previously unsolved 1998 killing of an Indiana teenager has taken his life in state prison.

The Indiana Department of Corrections says 39-year-old Clinton Bryan Mackey died Saturday in a prison shower at the New Castle Correctional Facility.

(Left to right) Clinton Bryan Mackey, his victim 19-year-old Erika Case

The Tribune-Star reports that an autopsy performed Monday determined his manner of death to be suicide caused by asphyxia due to hanging.

The former West Terre Haute man pleaded guilty in January 2015 to voluntary manslaughter in 19-year-old Erika Case’s September 1998 stabbing death.

The Vigo County Sheriff’s Office had re-investigated the cold case with assistance from a team from TNT’s “Cold Justice” television program.

Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said Wednesday that it’s “unfortunate Clint Mackey chose not to serve his sentence for the murder he committed.”

Information from: Tribune-Star, http://www.tribstar.com