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Crime & Safety

Kane County Jail Death Under Investigation

Geneva High School alumnus Michael Padden, now a lawyer in Minnesota, is questioning the circumstances surrounding the death of Kane County Jail inmate Keith Renfroe Jr.

The story has all the elements of a Michael Connolly thriller, and the Minnesota lawyer playing the lead role is Geneva High School grad Mike Padden.

Padden is representing the family of Keith Renfroe, 20, who was taken off life support on May 24 after he was found unresponsive on the floor of a Kane County jail cell on May 19.

Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez told the Daily Herald that Renfroe suffered self-inflicted injuries but offered no further comment because the Renfroe's death is under investigation.

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In a story in the Kane County Chronicle, Perez said, "We have never dealt with a situation quite like this; it’s a very unique circumstance."

Padden says sheriff's deputies called Renfroe's father on May 19 and "they were very specific" that Renfroe had hanged himself.

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Yet the autopsy, which was conducted May 25, showed no sign of external injury, said Padden, who retained a doctor to witness the autopsy.

"The information I am getting is disturbing," Padden said in an e-mail to Geneva Patch. "Understandably, the kid's parents and friends are devastated."

According to the Daily Herald story by Harry Hitzeman, Renfroe was staying with an uncle in Gilberts when he was arrested on May 18 for breaking into a Gilberts home and refusing to leave. Renfroe told the homeowner he was being chased, ran into the bathroom and shut the door.

The Daily Herald story said Padden is requesting a second autopsy, with an independent doctor.

Padden is a 1979 graduation of Geneva High School. He is the owner of Padden & Associates, a law office is St. Paul, MN.

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