Box Elder County Sheriff: Man who died in custody swallowed strychnine

Rex Iverson. Photo: Box Elder County

BRIGHAM CITY, Utah, Nov. 18, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — A man who died in the Box Elder County Jail during the pre-booking process took pills to poison himself, an investigation has determined.

The Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office has released a statement after an investigation into the Jan. 23 death of Rex Iverson, 45, of Bear River.

Iverson was in a holding cell after being arrested on a warrant. During the pre-booking process, a deputy spoke to Iverson about the possibility of posting bail, according to the sheriff’s office news release. When the officer returned a half hour later, Iverson was unresponsive.

Life-saving efforts began immediately and Iverson was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Officers later heard rumors that Iverson said rather than go to jail, he would poison himself, and confirmed with acquaintances of Iverson that he had made the claim. Strychnine and gelatin capsules were found at his residence, and toxicology tests by the Medical Examiner determined strychnine poisoning to be the cause of death.

According to the sheriff’s office’s statement, the gel caps were small enough to go undetected during multiple pat downs.

The manner of death was classified as a suicide.

“It was determined that unless the officer was physically watching Mr. Iverson every second from the time he was placed under arrest, he could have ingested the poison at any time,” the BECSO statement says.

“It appears that Mr. Iverson had pre-planned this type of situation and had reached a conclusion as to what he would do.”

The outstanding warrant was related to a civil case for a 2013 unpaid ambulance bill of $2,376.92, which Iverson owed to Bear River City after a 2014 judgment against him.

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