KWCH - Kansas News and Weather - Craigslist Rapist Found Dead in Sedgwick County Jail Cell

Craigslist Rapist Found Dead in Sedgwick County Jail Cell

By John Boyd and Angela Smith (WICHITA, Kan.)

Sedgwick County authorities are investigating a death at the Sedgwick County Detention Facility Monday morning. According to the Sheriff's Department, David Gage, also known as the Craigslist rapist, was found dead in his cell.

Gage's body was discovered as inmates in the indirect housing pod were released for breakfast. One of the inmates observed Gage in his cell and informed a detention deputy. Gage was alone in his cell and the preliminary investigation indicates the death was most likely a suicide.

In May, a judge sentenced Gage to almost 30 years in prison after a jury convicted him of impersonating an officer and raping three women.

Prosecutors say Gage contacted the women who listed themselves on the "Erotic Services" section of Craigslist. When he met them at wichita hotels, he showed them a fake U.S. Marshals badge and forced them to have sex with him.

In 1998, Wichita police say they arrested Gage when he tried to commit the same crime on an undercover officer.

He repeatedly denied his guilt.