Ryan Brunn, the man sentenced to life in prison for beating and killing 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera, who was found in a trash bin, has committed suicide in his jail cell.
Ryan Brunn, 20, was found unresponsive at the Jackson State Prison today and was later pronounced dead at a hospital, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
Kristen Stancil, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections said:
“I can confirm that Ryan Brunn did commit suicide.”
Ryan Brunn killed himself by hanging, a source told 11Alive News.
He had pleaded guilty on Tuesday to several charges including murder and child molestation in the December 2 killing of Jorelys Rivera.
Ryan Brunn responded “Yes, sir,” when a judge asked if he was pleading guilty to several charges. The judge accepted his plea and sentenced him to life without parole.
“I’d like to apologize for everything that’s done. Lo Siento,” Ryan Brunn said, apologizing in Spanish as he took the stand briefly a second time.
Ryan Brunn said he chose Jorelys Rivera because he happened to find her roller skate and used it to lure her to a vacant apartment, where he killed her, he told the judge.
He said he first sexually assaulted her.
“I didn’t want her to go home and tell her mom or dad on me. So I cut her,” he told the Cherokee County judge.
Police say Ryan Brunn snatched Jorelys Rivera as she walked from the playground to her apartment to get sodas for her friends.
Ryan Brunn was being held without bond at the Cherokee County jail. His family has said he is innocent. The charges carried the possibility of a death sentence if convicted, but prosecutors had not decided yet whether to seek it.
Ryan Brunn has no known criminal past and he cleared background checks by the company that runs the apartment complex where he had been working about a month.
