FLORIDA — An investigation is underway after an inmate was found dead in his cell Thursday at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said 36-year-old Marshall Drake of Oviedo was discovered unresponsive during routine checks by jail staff. Deputies reported that Drake was found hanging from a bedsheet tied around his neck.
Staff members attempted CPR in an effort to revive him, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Officials said preliminary findings indicate the incident was a suicide, though the investigation remains ongoing.
Drake had been arrested on March 5 on allegations of possessing child sexual abuse material. According to his arrest report, a messenger application submitted a cybertip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in November 2025 after a file suspected to contain child pornography was shared through its service. Investigators said the file was a video showing two girls believed to be between 11 and 13 years old.
Authorities also noted Drake had a prior criminal history. In 2013, while serving as an Army specialist, he was sentenced to more than a decade in military prison after shooting and killing another soldier at a military base in Alaska.
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation into Drake’s death is continuing.
