Boxer Edwin Valero found dead in jail

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Former boxing champ Edwin Valero committed suicide in his jail cell on Monday just hours after he was arrested in his wife's killing, police said.

The former lightweight champion used his own clothes to hang himself from a bar in his cell early Monday, Venezuelan Federal Police Chief Wilmer Flores told reporters.

He said Valero was found by another inmate, who alerted authorities in the police lockup in north-central Carabobo state. Valero still showed signs of life when they took him down, but they were unable to save him and he died about 1:30 a.m., Flores said.

The 28-year-old was detained Sunday on suspicion of killing his wife. Prosecutors said Sunday night that they had planned to charge Valero in the killing.

Valero was detained after police found the body of his 24-year-old wife in a hotel in Valencia. The boxer left the hotel room around dawn Sunday and allegedly told security he had killed Jennifer Viera, Flores said.

The fighter was a household name in Venezuela and had a huge image of President Hugo Chavez tattooed on his chest, along with the country's yellow, blue and red flag.