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Attorney General Says No Further Investigation Needed in Long Creek Death

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The Maine medical examiner has determined that the death of a 17-year-old transgender resident at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in November was the result of suicide.

The attorney general says there's no basis for her office to investigate further, but the Department of Corrections is asking an outside expert to review Long Creek's suicide prevention policy.

The investigation by the medical examiner's office was undertaken as part of a standard protocol involving deaths in state custody or confinement. According to a letter from Attorney General Janet Mills to the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, the medical examiner concluded that 17-year-old Maisie Knowles died on Nov. 1, 2016, three days after being found unconscious and hanging from the inside door of an isolation room while on suicide watch.

Knowles identified as male and was using the name "Charlie," but was referred to by the Department of Corrections, the court and other official sources as "Maisie." He was being held in the female unit of Long Creek.

Mills' letter says he left a suicide note indicating a desire to no longer live without the presence of an older romantic interest from his hometown.

"There is no basis for this office to initiate further action," Mills wrote. Meanwhile, the Department of Corrections has undertaken its own review of the events leading up to Knowles' death, and just last month hired an outside expert to review Long Creek's suicide prevention policy.

A call and email to the department were not returned by airtime.