An Indiana inmate at the Hamilton County Jail awaiting trial on murder and firearm charges was found dead in his cell Saturday in an apparent suicide. Jeremy Shane Black, 20, of Westfield, was found dead about 4:50 p.m. in a medium security cellblock, said Hamilton County Sheriff's Maj. Mark Bowen.

Officers responding to the cell after an attempted suicide was reported found Black unresponsive. Medical personnel called to the scene pronounced Black dead. Bowen said Black hanged himself with a piece of his clothing.

Black was charged with murder, criminal recklessness and pointing a firearm. He was one of three defendants charged in the Nov. 4, 2004, shooting death of Ethan Holley in a Westfield apartment.

The jury trial for Noel Shuck, also charged with murdering Holley, began today.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp said Black had not been expected to be called as a witness in the case against Shuck. Black's death would not have an impact on the trial in the eyes of the state of Indiana, she added.

In December the third defendant in the Holley case, Richard "Whitey" Short, was sentenced to 40 years in the Indiana Department of Correction after pleading guilty to Class A felony burglary. Prosecutors said Class A felony burglary was similar to a murder charge because it's with the intent to cause serious bodily injury.

Black was scheduled to appear for a pre-trial hearing May 15.