An investigaton is underway in southeastern Nebraska after a prison inmate died under suspicious circumstances. Prison officials received word that the inmates family had agreed to take him off life support after he was found unresponsive in his cell on Monday.

The Tecumseh State Correctional Institution received notification Wednesday from the Johnson County coroner that medical staff at the Bryan Medical Center West Campus in Lincoln would begin the process to remove Terry Berry from life support. According to the coroner, the actual date of death will be noted on the death certificate as Monday, April 17, 2017, when doctors declared him legally brain dead.

At approximately 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 15, Berry was found unresponsive in his cell. Staff members were alerted to his condition by Berry’s cellmate. Berry was not breathing and responding staff members immediately began CPR. Berry was transported to Johnson County Hospital and then to Bryan West in Lincoln.

The decisions regarding removal of life support and possible organ donation were made by Mr. Berry’s next-of-kin. The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services offered condolences to Mr. Berry’s family and said the staff recognizes the very difficult decisions the family made.

Berry was serving a 2-3 year prison term for 2nd degree forgery and an additional one-year term for assault by a confined person. Both crimes occurred in Platte County, Nebraska, according to online inmate records.

The Nebraska State Patrol is conducting a criminal investigation into Mr. Berry’s death. No further details were released.