A Buffalo man accused of killing his girlfriend and their newborn son before setting their Elmwood Village home on fire has died after an apparent suicide inside the Erie County Correctional Facility, authorities confirmed Wednesday night.
According to the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, 30-year-old Kidane Haile was found unresponsive in the shower area of a dormitory around 9 p.m. Detention deputies and medical staff immediately attempted lifesaving measures, but Haile was pronounced dead at 9:34 p.m. The New York State Attorney General’s Office has been notified, and an autopsy scheduled for Thursday will determine his official cause of death.
Haile had been held without bail since October, when he was charged in a gruesome case that shook the Buffalo community.
On October 18, Buffalo firefighters responded to a house fire on Norwood Avenue just after 8:30 a.m. Inside the burning home, crews discovered Haile, his girlfriend 29-year-old Kathleen Carrig, and their four-day-old son, Noah. Both Carrig and the infant were pronounced dead at the scene.
Haile was transported to ECMC for treatment of smoke inhalation and remained hospitalized for several days.
A subsequent investigation determined that Carrig’s death was a homicide caused by asphyxia due to strangulation, according to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. The medical examiner also ruled Noah’s death a homicide, citing asphyxiation and/or thermal injuries, according to court documents.
Prosecutors allege that Haile used gasoline as an accelerant to ignite a fire inside a bedroom of the home. In October, he was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and third-degree arson.
Haile’s death brings the criminal case to an abrupt end, but authorities say investigations into the jail incident and the circumstances surrounding the fire and homicides remain active.
Further details are expected following the completion of the autopsy and internal review.