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Accused killer of police officer hangs himself in Utah jail

OGDEN, Utah, May 24 (UPI) -- A man awaiting trial in Utah in the death of a police officer during a January 2012 drug raid has died in his cell by hanging, sheriffs said Friday.

Matthew David Stewart, 39, had a courtroom defeat the day before, when Judge Noel Hyde of Utah's 2nd District Court rejected his lawyers' contention a police officer lied about the "knock-and-announce" warrant that led to the raid on his home, in which an Ogden, Utah, police officer was killed and five others wounded, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Friday.

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"I think (Wednesday's) hearing hit him hard. I just think he couldn't bear it anymore," said Erma Stewart, Stewart's sister-in-law, after her family was informed of his death by Weber County, Utah, sheriffs.

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