Suspect in Minn. triple slaying kills self in jail

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A St. Paul man accused of killing three relatives last month committed suicide in jail, about three weeks after he'd been taken off suicide watch, Ramsey County authorities said.

Patrick McHugh, 55, was found dead Friday afternoon of apparent asphyxia due to self-strangulation, sheriff's spokeswoman Holli Drinkwine said.

McHugh had been on suicide watch because he told police after his arrest he should have killed himself, according to a criminal complaint. He was taken off suicide watch July 27 on a county psychologist's orders, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

McHugh was accused of shooting two of his sisters, a brother-in-law and a niece July 16. He told police he "just snapped" before pulling out a gun and opening fire.

One sister, 56-year-old Kathleen Dorgan of Cottage Grove, survived by pretending to be dead after being shot in the face and neck, the complaint said. The other three relatives died.

After his arrest, McHugh told investigators, "I've really done it now." He later added, "I should have got a motel, should have killed myself," the criminal complaint said.

Someone who answered the phone at Dorgan's home Friday told the St. Paul Pioneer Press the family had no comment.

A correctional officer found McHugh dead in his jail cell about 5 p.m. Friday while performing routine rounds, the sheriff's department. St. Paul police will conduct an investigation.

At his first court appearance on July 19, McHugh wore a green vest made of Kevlar, a material used to prevent inmates from strangling themselves. He wasn't wearing the vest when he appeared in court two weeks later.

McHugh is the first person to commit suicide at the jail's current location, which opened in December 2003.

A woman who was an inmate at the previous downtown jail killed herself in August 2003 by apparently using a trash bag to suffocate herself.

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