Police probe suicide with plastic bag at psych ward

Police probe suicide with plastic bag at psych ward

MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — County police are investigating the suicide of a woman who used a plastic bag to suffocate herself in the psychiatric ward of a hospital affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

UPMC spokeswoman Gloria Kreps says UPMC McKeesport is investigating the death of a woman last Wednesday, but can’t provide specific information because of medical and mental health privacy laws.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office says 23-year-old Samantha Bokin died about 2 a.m. after she was found on the floor with a bag over her head.

The woman’s parents say they were initially told only that their daughter had turned blue and that a doctor tried for 25 minutes to revive her. Only later were they told about the bag.

Jack Bokin says his daughter had been hospitalized for attempting suicide.