Man’s suicide hanging attempt averted by wife

A Mt. Vernon man’s life was saved when his wife stopped him from killing himself.
According to a report filed by Officer Ed Evatt, of the Mt. Vernon Police Department, he and Officer Tannya Benitez were called to the couple’s residence on Gibbs Avenue on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 19.
Upon arriving at the residence, Evatt stated, they were directed to a wooded area on the southwest side of the property. There, they found the man on the ground “with his face facing the ground and gasping for air.”
Evatt stated that he and Benitez rolled the man onto his back, and a short time later, EMS crews arrived to take him to a hospital.
Benitez, in a supplemental report, stated that she spoke with the man’s wife after paramedics and other emergency personnel arrived on the scene. The wife told Benitez that she’d just arrived home from work and was in their tent in the backyard when she heard branches breaking.
The wife said she, at first, thought it was their dog playing in the woods, but when she went to look, she saw the man in a sitting position. She said she went to see what he was doing and found him in a kneeling position, with an orange cord tied around his neck and the other end tied around to a tree. The wife said the man was on his knees leaning forward and choking.
The wife told Benitez that she was able to get the cord off of the man’s neck and had her son call 911. She also said the man is suicidal and has attempted to harm himself multiple times in the past and is supposed to be on medication, but they can’t afford it.
Benitez said this wasn’t the first time Mt. Vernon Police have been called to the residence.
“They have got a lot of issues,” she said. “Basically, we’re over there quite frequently.”
An update on the man’s condition was unavailable as of press time.