Suicide Suspected in Death of Man on Sex Offender List
A sex offender whose name, photograph and address were publicized under the provisions of Megan’s Law was found hanging from a tree in a suspected suicide, Santa Rosa police said Tuesday.
The body of Michael Patton, 42, was found dangling from a redwood tree Sunday morning, five days after his neighbors in this town about 50 miles north of San Francisco were warned that Patton was a known sexual predator.
“We’ll never know for sure, but you could make an assumption that the two incidents are connected,” said Sgt. Ernesto Olivares, head of the Santa Rosa Police Department’s sex crime and family violence unit.
Olivares said the decision to notify nearby residents of Patton’s sex offense convictions was made under Megan’s Law, year-old state and federal legislation requiring law enforcement agencies to make information about sex offenders available to the public.
Patton, who had a history of sex crimes dating to 1976, had been convicted on a number of charges, including false imprisonment, kidnapping, rape and unlawful sex with children under 14.
He was released from prison in 1995 after serving 13 years and was scheduled to finish parole July 16.
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