Nate Burrell: ‘60 Days In’ star was charged with rape and assault with dangerous weapon days before suicide
Star of A&E docuseries ‘60 Days In’, Nate Burrell was charged with rape and multiple accounts of assault just days before he killed himself on October 31, court documents have revealed. Nate fatally shot himself "in public" in downtown Allegan, Michigan. Now Michigan court records accessed by People show that Nate had been charged with five felony counts days before his suicide. The charges included “criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder.” Burrell was scheduled to be arraigned in court on November 9.
We reported earlier that before his death, Burrell left a detailed and emotional note to his wife Jordan and many of his close friends and relatives on Facebook. However, most of the purported suicide note mentioned Jordan. According to TMZ, Nate had a child on the way with his wife but the couple reportedly split. In his Facebook note he spoke directly to his estranged partner — Jordan — and an apparent custody battle over their unborn child. Burrell alleged that Jordan had ruined his life.
"I can only imagine how bad this would all turn out, all of the legal crap that would ensue after this with custody and everything else. You win! You have promised for weeks, you will ruin my life and I had no idea who I was messing with. You are right, I didn't know who I was messing with. You told me you wished I still wanted to kill myself a few weeks ago, and that has sat in my heart since. This isn't a post to bash you but instead to lift you up”, he wrote.
The 33-year-old docuseries star also mentioned his family members and friends by name whom he needed for help when he was going through turbulent times. He also urged America to “revamp” the behavioral health sector and talked about how he checked into a hospital when he was feeling suicidal. He wrote, “I checked myself into the hospital for wanting to commit suicide and from the beginning, I felt like a criminal going to jail. Stripped of my dignity and identity and personal property.”
He continued about his deteriorating condition, “You didn't help me. You held me prisoner so I couldn't hurt myself? You need a better system, America. This is the reason veterans and our military are killing themselves at such a high rate. They aren't getting the treatment they need when they reach out for help they go to a place like I went. And as I told the doctors there, I would kill myself before coming back to a place like this. You should be ashamed of yourself. All I wanted was help, I sought you and you treated me like an animal.” Burrell ended the post with a Bible verse and the quote, “Let our lives not be defined by our mistakes but instead our hearts.”
Burrell was a veteran and served as a Marine from 2006 to 2010. As per reports, he was honorably discharged in 2013 and went on to receive his associate degree in criminal justice and law in 2014. He later became popular as he appeared in two seasons of ‘60 Days In’, a documentary series that uncovers the injustice done to inmates.
According to his sister Chelsey Walker, Burrell was proud of being part of the series. "Nathan loved his country, loved his family, and was a very caring guy. He was just in a bad place. He was very proud of being on ‘60 Days In,’ and he really cherished his time on that show,” Walker said.
Daily Mail reported that Burrell was inspired to be a part of the show after the arrest of his brother. “Nate was disappointed that, while he was stationed in Iraq on one of his two combat tours, his older brother had been arrested and was facing prison time again,” his A&E biography reads as quoted by Daily Mail. “He believes that the Criminal Justice System should be much tougher on criminals to dissuade them from returning, and he argues prisons should be more militaristic and less flexible when it comes to inmate liberties.”
Currently, there is not much information on his death and the charges brought against him.