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Wisconsin Jail Inmate Who Died Was Distraught, Family Says
By Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Published: 01/02/2003

A man who committed suicide December 3 in the County Jail was facing prison time and was distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend and about a friend injured in a recent traffic accident, family members said.
Until the incident, there hadn't been a suicide in the jail in more than 20 years, said Detective Steve Pederson of the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.
Anthony L. Koreen, 23, of Milwaukee was found unconscious at 1:50 a.m. during a routine cell check, Pederson said. Koreen was found with one end of a bed sheet wrapped around his neck and the other tied to a towel hook above the bunk.
Koreen was in one of four jail pods that are checked every 30 minutes, Pederson said, adding that correctional officers attempted to revive him before he was pronounced dead at Waukesha Memorial Hospital.
An autopsy confirmed Koreen committed suicide by hanging, according to the medical examiner's office.
Gordon DiMaggio, Koreen's father, said Tuesday that there were signs that his only child was upset. Koreen considered suicide this fall, and the family told his probation agent, he said.
Koreen's probation agent did not return a phone call seeking comment.
His father said Koreen was an emotional person, so someone in the jail had to have noticed that his son was upset. 'I know had I been able to speak to him, none of this would have happened,' he said.
In a phone conversation a night before his death with his grandmother, Koreen said he was upset about the breakup with his girlfriend, his father said.
Koreen also said he was upset about a family friend, John P. Paul, 21. Paul was seriously injured after being struck by an unknown vehicle while he was walking on Highway 60 in Slinger on Nov. 17.
DiMaggio said he may ask Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher for an inquest into his son's death. 'My main concern is to find out how this transpired,' DiMaggio said. 'I don't think somebody is doing their job properly.'
Koreen was awaiting sentencing on Dec. 19 for writing a bad check of $1,256 and for bail jumping. He faced up to 40 years in prison.
He pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to a felony charge of issuing a fraudulent document and was originally scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 16. Because he didn't show up for court on time, he was also charged with felony bail jumping, according to court records.
Koreen was in custody since Sept. 26, court records show.
A 2001 sentencing report prepared by the defense said that Koreen had 'worked very hard to overcome his drug addiction' and hadn't used marijuana or Ecstasy in more than a year. He passed all of his random drug screens while on probation, and he successfully completed substance abuse and anger management classes.
'Once sentencing has been completed, he plans on staying out of trouble,' the report says.


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