Dylan Levi Judd.
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January 13, 2020 - 11:10 AM
Plans for a coroner's inquest for a 2014 in-custody death of a Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre prisoner have been called off.
Dylan Levi Judd, 20, was found dead in his cell with a red sweatshirt tied tightly around his neck in November 2014.
An autopsy performed on Judd's body showed he died of asphyxiation and an inquest into his death was originally announced in 2015 when it was determined that the public had an interest in being informed of the circumstances leading to his demise.
Subsequent investigation led to Nathaniel David Jessup being charged with second-degree murder. Jessup's B.C. Supreme Court trial ran for approximately nine days and concluded in the summer of 2019 with an acquittal.
READ MORE: Full coverage on this trial
While the Crown presented evidence that Jessup had strangled Judd, defence lawyers argued Judd was mentally unstable and killed himself.
Crown did not meet the burden of proof and the B.C. Supreme Court justice presiding over the case found Jessup not guilty.
"The chief coroner has determined that the criminal trial served to inform the public of the circumstances of this death and, therefore, there is no longer a need to hold an inquest for that purpose," the coroner's announcement read.
"As a result, the investigation into Judd’s death will be concluded by way of a coroner’s report."
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