Christopher Lee Kennedy found dead in his cell in state prison
UPDATE: Centre County Chief Deputy Coroner Judith Pleskonko ruled Christopher Lee Kennedy died by suicide by hanging.
BELLEFONTE — A Wampum man serving a lengthy sentence in connection with the 2017 death of his newborn son has died in prison.
Christopher Lee Kennedy, 42, was found unresponsive in his cell Jan. 28 at State Correctional Institute Rockview in Centre County.
More: Christopher Lee Kennedy sentenced for 2017 child rape and infant death case
Both prison staff and EMS workers attempted life-saving measures as he was taken to the Mount Nittany Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:10 p.m.
In accordance with state policy, Pennsylvania State Police were notified and will conduct an investigation. On Wednesday, the Centre County Coroner's Office ruled the death a suicide by hanging.
Kennedy was sentenced on Sept. 7 to 18-36 years in state prison for an Oct. 9, 2017, incident in which he was involved in the killing of a newborn baby he had with an underage Ellwood City female and hid the corpse in a box inside of her closet.
More: Wampum man accepts plea in child rape and infant death case, could face 18 to 36 years
According to court records, Ellwood City police first became aware of the infant death on Nov. 13, 2017, when they were called to UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for a 16-year-old borough girl who ended up on a ventilator because of health problems caused by not receiving proper treatment after giving birth.
The girl admitted to having a child with Kennedy, a family friend, and said they had been "in a relationship" for about three years. She said Kennedy told her they could not have the child because he would get into trouble, so he gave her chemicals in August to attempt a miscarriage. But on Oct. 9, 2017, she gave birth to a boy in her upstairs bathroom.
Police reported the girl initially said she was alone at the time of the birth and strangled the child to death. However, she later admitted Kennedy was there and killed the baby. She told police they hid the body in a box in her bedroom closet.
When police searched the closet, officers said they noticed the smell immediately despite items such as spices and perfume placed there to alleviate the odor. Police said they removed boxes that were stacked on a blue container and opened it to find a large black plastic bag inside that contained a safe. The body and other items were entombed in cement inside the safe.
Police said the safe had been bought by Kennedy and they were able to find the chemicals the girl said he had given her.
Kennedy had been in SCI Rockview since Dec. 22.
Nicholas Vercilla is a staff reporter for the Ellwood City Ledger. He can be reached at nvercilla@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ellwood City Ledger: Wampum man convicted in newborn's death dies in state prison
