(Source) FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- A man hurled himself off the third-floor balcony in the Allen County Courthouse after he was convicted of child molesting. Cicero Offerle, 30, of Fort Wayne was hospitalized in critical condition after falling about 20 feet on Thursday, but was expected to survive.
Offerle, who had been out on bond, was taken into custody after a jury convicted him of molesting a 10-year-old girl he had been babysitting in October 2006. Offerle showed no visible reaction when the verdict was read.
After the verdict, Judge Gull revoked Offerle's bond and ordered him held until sentencing Nov. 19. A sheriff's deputy handcuffed his hands behind his back and led him from the courtroom. As the bailiff led him down the corridor, Offerle broke into a run and dove over the third floor railing, striking the marble second-floor railing and landing on the second floor, Gull said.
Gull said she ordered Offerle held until sentencing in part because prosecutors had said he tried to kill himself following his initial interview with police. She said Offerle would remain under guard at the hospital. No jurors were in the courthouse when Offerle leaped over the railing, Gull said.
Offerle, who had been out on bond, was taken into custody after a jury convicted him of molesting a 10-year-old girl he had been babysitting in October 2006. Offerle showed no visible reaction when the verdict was read.
After the verdict, Judge Gull revoked Offerle's bond and ordered him held until sentencing Nov. 19. A sheriff's deputy handcuffed his hands behind his back and led him from the courtroom. As the bailiff led him down the corridor, Offerle broke into a run and dove over the third floor railing, striking the marble second-floor railing and landing on the second floor, Gull said.
Gull said she ordered Offerle held until sentencing in part because prosecutors had said he tried to kill himself following his initial interview with police. She said Offerle would remain under guard at the hospital. No jurors were in the courthouse when Offerle leaped over the railing, Gull said.
(Source) It was a spectacular suicide attempt...Police say as he was being led from the courtroom, Offerle ran from the officers, and jumped head-first from the third floor balcony.
There were not many people still in the courthouse at that late hour. But a courthouse security officer working on the first floor, about forty feet below, heard some scuffling and other commotion that drew his attention up above.
Brent Dubach/Security Officer: " I looked up that way, I saw an object falling from the third floor. I thought the evening cleaning crew had dropped something from the third floor. At that time, the object then struck the railing on the second floor and I could see it was a person falling."
The distance of the fall was approximately 21 feet, and he struck a marble railing with his hands behind his back, with no way to cushion the blow. It is believed his torso area made first impact.
1 comment:
Great ! one less jerk to worry about ! the world is that much a safer place.
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