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Autopsy to be conducted on Halawa inmate found dead in cell

The Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine how a 44-year-old Halawa Correctional Facility inmate, who was serving time for robbery, died in his cell.

Corrections officials said preliminary reports indicate that inmate Reginald Saia  committed suicide.

Prison guards found Saia unresponsive in his cell while doing their normal headcount at 4 a.m. Thursday.

Prison staff immediately began CPR on him.  Paramedics arrived at 4:27 a.m. and continued CPR while taking him to Pali Momi Medical Center.  He was pronounced dead at Pali Momi at 5:09 a.m.  

Saia was serving time for second-degree robbery.

The incident is under investigation.

Saia was the fourth prison suicide since April.

On April 8,  Darius Puni-Mau, 22, died April 8 at Halawa Correctional Facility.  Several months earlier, he escaped from state custody while at Circuit Court for a probation revocation hearing.

 Ikaika Andrade, 18, hanged himself  a few days  later on April 29 at Oahu Community Correctional Center. Andrade was awaiting to be sentenced on an assault charge. A social worker found Andrade unresponsive in a holding unit at OCCC. He was alone in his cell.

Catherine Callahan, 56, a pretrial detainee was found hanging in her OCCC cell May 18. Callahan was alone in her cell, in module 4, which was not in a special holding cell. Callahan was awaiting trial on charges of first-degree terroristic threatening, third-degree assault and violating a temporary restraining order.

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