Police: War Machine attempts suicide in jail
Las Vegas police reported Thursday that War Machine, the former MMA fighter facing dozens of domestic battery-related charges, tried to commit suicide this week in jail.
Tuesday evening, a Clark County Detention Center worker found Jonathan Koppenhaver, aka War Machine, sitting on the floor with his feet up on the bunk. He had tied a piece of torn linen to the leg of his bed and fitted the other end around his neck.
The corrections officer cut the linen from Koppenhaver’s neck because the man didn’t respond to calls and was not breathing well, police said.
Koppenhaver’s vital signs had “completely stopped,” and he was “pretty much dead” when the officers found him, according to his lawyer, Brandon Sua.
About 15 minutes later, Koppenhaver was cleared by jail medics and he was moved to an isolation cell.
Sua said jailers found “several” suicide notes in the defendant’s jail cell, though the attorney was not told exactly what Koppenhaver had written.
Koppenhaver did not appear in court Wednesday, when his lawyers told a judge they wanted to try negotiate with prosecutors. Sua said he had not spoken with Koppenhaver in several days.
Sua, who has known Koppenhaver for 15 years, said his client’s depression and anxiety had increased since his August arrest.
“He feels like the chips are stacked against him,” Sua said. “He doesn’t believe he will get a fair trial.”
Koppenhaver, who was arrested in August after the beating of his ex-girlfriend and adult film actress Christy Mack and her friend, Corey Thomas, is now on suicide watch, police said.
Since his arrest, Koppenhaver has remained active on Twitter, having someone post to the social media site for him.
On Thursday, a poem was tweeted from his account, ending with the lines: “Emasculation,/What a cost./Becoming civilized/ Has left men lost.”
Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker.
Contact reporter Annalise Little at alittle@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0391. Find her on Twitter: @annalisemlittle.
