Suspect found dead in cell

By JAMES APA GUMUNO
POLICE believe a man facing rape charges and other offences took his own life in a cell at Mt Hagen police station where he was kept last Friday.
Provincial police commander Supt Kaiglo Ambane said James Lloyd Kennedy, 35, of Teremanda village in Enga’s Wabag district, was facing various offences including rape, murder, assault and escaping from lawful custody.
He said the deceased was arrested last Monday at Avi Block in Anglimp district, Jiwaka, for allegedly raping two sisters, aged 15 and 12.
He said police shot Kennedy in the leg when he tried to escape. He was then admitted at the Mt Hagen Provincial Hospital.
Ambane said on Tuesday night, Kennedy, despite his injury, got out of his bed and tried to jump over the hospital fence. A police officer guarding him caught him before he could get away. He was taken back to the cell and locked up.
Kennedy had been serving a 16-year jail term for killing his father on July 20, 1999.
“Kennedy was 22 when he killed his father and sent to jail but escaped from Baisu jail some years later and was on the run,” he said.
Ambane said while at large, Kennedy allegedly committed other offences.
“Because people feared him none of the victims came forward to report the matter to police. They were afraid of him and allowed him to move around freely,” he said.