Police in Lawrence, Kan., said Adolfo Garcia-Nunez, 46, was found dead in his cell after being arrested in Elizabeth, N.J., in the slaying of Jana Mackey, 25, a second-year law student at Kansas University, The Kansas City Star reported.

Authorities said they discovered the student's body in Garcia-Nunez's Lawrence home Friday. He was arrested less than 24 hours later and was discovered dead in his cell early Sunday. Lawrence police would not say how Mackey was killed or how Garcia-Nunez committed suicide, the newspaper said.

Mackey was described as a women's rights advocate and was passionate on the topic of domestic abuse, relatives said.

"I couldn't figure it out," Christie Brungardt, Mackey's mother, told the Star. "He was too old for her. She was all about public advocacy, particularly women's rights. She volunteered for anything that would impact the world in a more positive way."