Justin Matthews, a 19 year old Rockford native, was arrested on September 8, 2017, on murder charges with a $3 million bond and remained in the Winnebago County Jail. By January 20, 2018, during his third month in custody, he was housed alone when Corrections Officer Larson found him dead in his cell between 5:00 and 5:15 AM having allegedly hanged himself with a thermal T-shirt.
His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Winnebago County, arguing his death could have been prevented. They alleged corrections officers withheld his medication, and their attorney, Craig Sandberg, stated Justin had a history of suicide attempts and should not have been housed alone in a cell with “hanging points.” The county ultimately settled the case for $400,000, determining a trial would be more costly.
This incident was the first alleged suicide investigated by the Winnebago Boone County Integrity Task Force, the 14th case they investigated and deemed justified, the 16th deadly force incident of the 2010s, and the third since Tom McNamara took office.