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Polson Man Accused of Murder Hangs Himself in Prison

By Beacon Staff

DEER LODGE – A 28-year-old Montana State Prison inmate who murdered his mother three years ago apparently committed suicide by hanging himself with a sheet, the prison announced Monday.

Brandon John Orr, a Polson man with a history of mental illness, was found hanged in his cell Saturday, prison spokeswoman Linda Moodry said.

Prison officers discovered Orr’s body in his one-person cell during a routine check at 10:35 p.m., the prison reported.

The death is being investigated by the Powell County Coroner and the Department of Corrections.

Orr was convicted in the July 2006 death of his mother after pleading guilty to hitting her in the head with a hammer while she was sleeping and then slitting her throat. Court documents indicated he was mentally ill, and a family member later said he was schizophrenic.

Before his arrival at the state prison in Deer Lodge in July, Orr had been held at the state psychiatric hospital in Warm Springs.

From late November until last Thursday he had been out of the prison for medical appointments, Moodry said. But she added there were no signs he was suicidal.

“The reports for the day seem like he was very cordial when staff brought him his food. He was kind and they didn’t see any problems,” she said.

Questions about why Orr was transferred out of the psychiatric hospital were referred to Montana State Hospital administrator Ed Amberg. He did not immediately return a call seeking comment.