Inmate Roman Mora Dies in a North Carolina Jail
In North Carolina news, 29-year-old Roman Mora, Jr. was an inmate in Pitt County Jail. A detention officer making rounds on August 22, 2025, discovered that Mr. Mora had attempted suicide by hanging himself in his cell. Mr. Mora was transported by ambulance to ECU Health Medical Center. Tragically, Roman Mora, Jr. was pronounced deceased at the hospital on Monday, August 25, 2025.
According to the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, Mr. Mora’s death was reported to the state jail inspectors as well as to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
The sheriff’s office also said that Mr. Mora was arrested and jailed for failure to appear in court on several drug charges. He was being held in Pitt County Jail on a $91,000 secured bond.
The address of Pitt County Jail, also known as Pitt County Detention Center, is 124 New Hope Rd, Greenville, North Carolina 27834.
County Jail Suicides in North Carolina
There are articles about record numbers of suicides in North Carolina jails, and then there are the incarcerated individuals whose lives were lost to suicide. Some corrections experts believe that custodial suicides are preventable deaths nearly 100% of the time. North Carolina jails do not readily release the names of inmates who died while incarcerated. The following is the story of one person whose name is known and who died by suicide in a North Carolina jail:
Melissa Middleton Rice Commits Suicide in Jackson County Detention Center
Jails have a responsibility to pay attention to warning signs that an inmate may be at a very high risk of attempting self-harm. When Melissa Middleton Rice took her own life inside Jackson County Detention Center (JCDC) on January 18, 2019, her high level of risk was unmistakable. Some of the red flags follow:
- On the same day Ms. Rice was booked into the jail, the deputy who arrested her witnessed a completely chaotic scene, which was at the home of her ex-husband. Her ex-husband had previously reported that she had threatened suicide. When the deputy was transporting her in his vehicle, she used a cigarette lighter and a one-dollar bill in an attempt to burn herself alive. During the suicide attempt, she burned the Plexiglass and the back single seat in the deputy’s vehicle.
Ms. Rice was left alone in the jail’s booking room by a person familiar with her suicidal state. She used a telephone cord to hang herself. She was discovered unresponsive and with no pulse just 3 hours after entering JCDC.
The address of the Jackson County Jail is 399 Grindstaff Cove Rd, Sylva, NC 28779. The jail’s inmate capacity is 72.
Three Suicides of Inmates Under 30 Occurred in a North Carolina Jail in February 2021
Three inmates under 30 died of suicide in North Carolina’s Rockingham County Jail in February 2021. When a fourth suicide occurred in the jail within 15 months, the Rockingham County Sheriff said they would step up suicide-risk training and also possibly increase jail staff.
The sheriff’s announcement came in May 2022 when an inmate was discovered attempting to kill himself in a single-occupancy cell. Officers and emergency medical personnel attempted to revive the inmate by giving him lifesaving aid. Sadly, he died of an apparently self-inflicted injury.
Rockingham County Jail’s address is 170 NC-65, Reidsville, North Carolina, 27320.
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