On March 11, 40-year-old Tina Ketcham was discovered deceased in Linn County Jail, Oregon, merely two weeks following her arrest on multiple charges of child sex abuse.
In a statement to KATU, Linn County Sheriff Jim Yon remarked: “During the hourly security checks at 5:10 am this morning, corrections deputies found Tina Ketcham hanging in her cell and unresponsive. Deputies promptly entered the cell, summoned medics, and initiated life-saving measures. Paramedics from the Albany Fire Department arrived at the scene at 05:18 a.m. and subsequently pronounced Ms. Ketcham dead.”
He further noted that no additional information would be disclosed as the investigation remains ongoing.
Ketcham faced charges including six counts of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree sex abuse, one count of first-degree sodomy, along with six other sex-related offenses.
Prosecutor Keith Stein indicated that the charges represented only a small portion of Ketcham’s alleged misconduct. He informed the court: “This is a situation where hundreds of charges could have been filed.”
It is alleged that Ketcham raped the boy from 2015 until January 2020, when he reported the abuse to the police. Ketcham has denied the allegations against her.
To safeguard the identity of the alleged victim, investigators did not reveal Ketcham’s relationship with the boy. However, they confirmed that he was known to her when the abuse commenced.
During her bail hearing earlier this month, the judge declined to lower her bail from $350,000 to $50,000. Ketcham took her own life while awaiting her next court appearance.
According to Ketcham’s attorney, Stephen Doyle, his client’s business interests indicated that she posed a low flight risk, and granting her bail would have permitted her to attend counseling sessions. Ketcham faced the possibility of decades in prison had she been convicted of the charges against her.