Man charged with killing Indiana police officer dies in prison while awaiting trial

PENDLETON, Ind. — A man accused of in which an Indiana police officer was fatally shot in the head in 2022 died Thursday at a state prison, authorities said.

Phillip Lee was being held at the Pendleton Jail pending trial next year on murder and other charges in the death of Richmond Officer Seara Burton.

Lee was “discovered alone in his cell and unresponsive by prison staff. … Toxicology results and an autopsy are pending, although foul play is not suspected,” state police said.

No other details have been released.

Burton, 28, was shot while assisting officers who stopped Lee on his moped and suspected him of possessing drugs. She died a month later, in September 2022. She had been a police officer for four years in Richmond, about 65 miles east of Indianapolis.

Prosecutors had said the death penalty was possible in Lee’s case.