Authorities say a 44-year-old James McVay has died as the result of an apparent suicide. He was found hanging in his cell overnight on Thursday.

Staff attempted CPR and an ambulance was summoned but McVay was pronounced dead before he could be transported to a hospital.

According the Associated Press, McVay was convicted of first-degree murder in Minnehaha County and sentenced to death earlier this year. McVay pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the July 2011 murder of Maybelle Schein of Sioux Falls.

Minnehaha County State's Attorney Aaron McGowan says he learned of the suicide of James McVay around 7:30 AM Thursday morning, and he says his office then notified the family and friends of Maybelle Schein.

McVay was sentenced to death after he pleaded guilty but mentally ill for the stabbing death of Schein in her Sioux Falls home in 2011. He said the woman's death was part of his plan to commit murders on his way to Washington, DC, where he planned to assassinate President Obama.

McGowan calls McVay "a deeply disburbed man," and he says McVay had very little respect for human life, including his own.

He says McVay's loved ones have had to endure many years of turmoil and consternation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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