Mathew Braun

Mathew Braun

A jail inmate, awaiting trial in a murder case, was found dead in his cell Monday night.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s department says 39-year-old Mathew Thomas Braun of rural Fayette was found unconscious and jail staff were unable to revive him. Sheriff Marty Fisher says the death does not appear to be suspicious in nature and there is no indication of foul play.

Fisher says an autopsy has been scheduled. Braun was in jail on a first-degree murder charge after he allegedly beat a Prairie View Residential Care Facility resident to death in 2012.

By Darin Sveson, KDEC, Decorah