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Inmate connected to 2004 murder found dead in Kansas prison

By CNN

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KSHB) — The Kansas Department of Corrections says an inmate with ties to a Johnson County murder was found dead in his El Dorado prison cell Tuesday.

A KDOC spokesperson said Andrew Ellmaker, 39, died Tuesday, Aug. 18.

Jail staff and medical personnel administered life-saving measures but were unable to revive him.

The cause of death is pending an autopsy.

Ellmaker was serving a 565-month sentence for convictions of first-degree murder and aggravated battery in Johnson County.

Teri Zenner, a case manager for the Johnson County Mental Health Center, was killed Aug. 17, 2004, when Ellmaker attacked her in his Overland Park home.

Ellmaker had a lengthy history of mental illness, but Zenner had been working with the then-teenager for nearly a year to develop life skills.

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Panettiere was with on-and-off boyfriend when she died, police report says

▶ Watch Video: Hayden Panettiere was found in cardiac arrest with no signs of foul play Hayden Panettiere's on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother were at the scene of her death, according to a police report obtained Tuesday by CBS News. The "Heroes" actor, 36, was found dead in a South Carolina apartment on Sunday. Panettiere and Brian Hickerson had a tumultuous relationship, including Hickerson being arrested multiple times over alleged abuse, according to Panettiere's recent memoir and media reports. Hickerson and his brother, Zach, made the 911 call that brought first responders to the Greenville, South Carolina, apartment where Panettiere was found unresponsive, the partially redacted police report says. The report is attributed to Officer Matthew Bryan.Firefighters and EMS were performing CPR on Panettiere when police arrived, Bryan wrote. Panettiere "did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive," Bryan said. He wrote that EMS performed life-saving measures "for an extended amount of time before they called a time of death." He did not specify how long they worked. Zach Hickerson told Bryan that Panettiere was Brian Hickerson's girlfriend, the report says. Bryan said there is CCTV footage showing Panettiere and the Hickersons coming and going from the apartment. Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson on January 31, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. gotpap/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
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