Garner Inmate Death Ruled Suicide

Following an autopsy, the chief state medical examiner has ruled that a Garner Correctional Institution inmate committed suicide on July 23.

The postmortem examination indicates that inmate Alfredo Ferrer, 43, of Coventry died as a result of traumatic asphyxia by hanging, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner said this week.

Ferrer was being held in Garner while facing pending charges of allegedly murdering his pregnant girlfriend in front of their two children in April.

In Garner, Ferrer hanged himself with a bedsheet. His cellmate notified correction officers of the incident at about 4:30 am July 23.

Ferrer was found with the bedsheet tied around his neck and the other end tied to the cell door at the high-security prison. He was taken to Danbury Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Ferrer was facing a murder charge in the shooting death of 27-year-old Amanda Realie in their apartment on April 14. Realie died three days later, and doctors were not able to save the unborn child.

Coventry officers arrested Ferrer the day of the shooting after a tense standoff in the parking lot of the nearby Bidwell Tavern, where Ferrer worked as a dishwasher. Frightened tavern customers were ushered by employees into the basement during the episode.

Ferrer is the sixth Garner inmate to have committed suicide since 2000.

Most recently, a Garner inmate committed suicide on May 21. Andre Mario Lyle, 22, whose last known address was East Hartford, died due to asphyxia caused by neck compression resulting from suicide.