The widow of a murder victim hanged herself in County Jail early Wednesday, the Coroner's Office confirmed.
Amanda Sloan, 30, was found dead in her cell around 4:25 a.m. Her death has been ruled a suicide, the Coroner reported.
Sloan had been in custody since December, when she was arrested after a shootout with sheriff's deputies. She was wanted for an earlier shooting and high-speed chase involving Capitola police officers.
Sloan's husband, Jeff Smith, 28, was fatally shot in front of the couple's Soquel Hills home last summer. Although a suspect in the killing was named in the weeks following Smith's death, no one has been arrested.
Sloan is the fifth Santa Cruz County Jail inmate to die in the past year. A man hanged himself in January. Three other inmates died of medical problems, some related to drug use.
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