A heavily tattooed man who strangled his wife took his own life in a New Jersey jail cell, just a day after being found guilty of her murder from 2021, according to prosecutors.
Shawn Lichtfuss, aged 53, was discovered unresponsive in his Camden County Correctional Facility cell at 11:18 p.m. on September 19 during a routine security check, as confirmed by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
Emergency medical personnel were called to the scene but Lichtfuss was pronounced dead shortly after, at 11:39 p.m.
A post-mortem examination carried out on Monday by the Gloucester-Camden-Salem County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the Voorhees Township resident died from asphyxia, with his death officially classified as suicide.
The tragedy occurred shortly after Lichtfuss was found guilty of first-degree murder for the death of his wife, Stefanie Caraway, during a trial that concluded on August 3, 2021.
Reports indicate that the jury reached a verdict in only 45 minutes.
Caraway was discovered deceased in the couple’s bedroom as part of a welfare check, with her husband arrested hours later, found in his vehicle near a convenience store adjacent to police headquarters, as reported by NJ.com.
The convicted murderer had told authorities that he “snapped” and placed his wife in a chokehold during a heated dispute, according to police documents accessed by the local news outlet.
Authorities determined that Caraway’s death was a homicide resulting from neck compression.
The investigation into Lichtfuss’s death is currently being conducted by the Attorney General’s Office.
