Just before midnight on Saturday, March 23, 2019, 77 year old George Kearney was discovered unresponsive by jail medical staff, in the medical unit of the St. Joseph County Jail. Emergency medical technicians were called to the jail at approximately 11:56 p.m., and Mr. Kearney was pronounced dead at approximately 12:05 a.m. early Sunday morning. The St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit (CMHU) was activated to investigate the death, as per protocol for all in-custody deaths. According to jail medical staff, Mr. Kearney was suffering from a terminal illness and his condition had been deteriorating over the past weeks. Mr. Kearney recently signed a Do Not Resuscitate order with the medical staff, and no lifesaving measures were taken after it was discovered that he had stopped breathing, per his request. The St. Joseph County Coroner’s Office has ordered an autopsy per protocol. That autopsy is scheduled to take place Monday, March 25th at 10:30 a.m. in Ft. Wayne. Mr. Kearney was being held in the St. Joseph County Jail on a charge of Murder and was awaiting sentencing on that case, which was set for March 29, 2019.