Nevada man accused of murdering Naomi Irion dies by suicide in jail while awaiting trail

Mirna Alsharif and Tim Stelloh and Minyvonne Burke and Antonio Planas
Updated ·2 min read
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A Nevada man accused of killing 18-year-old Naomi Irion, who vanished from a Walmart parking lot last year, died by suicide in jail Sunday, the Lyon County Sheriff's Office said.

Troy Driver, 43, was awaiting trial for Irion's death at the Lyon County Jail in Nevada when he died. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with Irion's disappearance March 12.

Deputies at the jail were conducting a routine check and inmate head count at around 6:17 p.m. when they found Driver to be unresponsive, the sheriff's office said in a news release.

The deputies administered lifesaving measures, including CPR, and an ambulance was sent.

Medical personnel pronounced Driver dead after several rounds of unsuccessful CPR.

"Preliminary details thus far indicate that Driver committed suicide by asphyxiation," Sheriff Brad Pope said in the news release. "Driver was housed in a maximum security jail cell and had no contact with other inmates."

Naomi Christine Irion. (FBI)
Naomi Christine Irion. (FBI)

Nevada State Police are investigating, the sheriff's office said.

"I want to express my sincerest condolences to the Irion family," Pope said. "My thoughts and prayers are with you."

Irion was last seen around 5 a.m. March 12 in the parking lot of a Walmart in Fernley, a city about 30 miles east of Reno. Her brother, Casey Valley, 32, said security video from the store showed a man in a mask and a hoodie walk to the parking lot from the direction of a dirt lot. The man then circled Irion’s car before he forced his way in.

“He circled around the parking lot, maybe to make sure there were no witnesses,” Valley said. “He came up behind the car and forced his way into the driver’s side of the car. Maybe her door was unlocked. He either said or did something to make her move to the passenger seat, and then he drove her car away into an unknown direction.”

Irion’s car was found in an industrial area in Fernley. On March 30, her body was discovered in a remote gravesite in an area east of Reno, authorities said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com