LANSING, Kan. — Following the death Friday night at Lansing Correctional Facility of an inmate who was convicted of aggravated kidnapping in Neosho County in 2005, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Kansas Department of Corrections are investigating the incident as a homicide.
The Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) contacted the KBI just after 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 6, to report the suspicious death of inmate Gary Raburn. By statute, the KBI is charged with investigating the deaths of prisoners in the custody of Kansas jails and prisons, unless the inmate who dies is being regularly attended by a physician, or the death is ruled natural by autopsy. KBI agents responded to investigate.
The initial investigation indicates that on Friday, just before 8:30 p.m., corrections officers from LCF were summoned to a two-person cell by a 25-year-old male inmate in the cell. When they arrived they found the other occupant, 62-year-old Raburn, unresponsive inside the cell. He appeared to have been attacked and strangled, according to the KBI.
Corrections officers entered the cell and attempted life-saving measures. EMS responded and continued attempts to revive Raburn, but he was declared deceased at approximately 9:30 p.m.
An autopsy will be conducted. A suspect has been identified, but charges are pending, the KBI said in a press release.
The investigation is ongoing, the KBI noted, adding that nothing further will be released at this time.
