Christopher Lapp: Family sues federal government as millionaire nuclear physicist who left chilling note dies by suicide in Virginia jail
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA: The US government is being sued by the family of a nuclear physicist who died by suicide after having his psychiatric medication stopped. He was also turned away from federal medical prison. According to the complaint, which was submitted on Thursday, February 23 in federal court on behalf of Christopher Lapp's 16-year-old daughter, a number of mistakes were made by prison staff, federal marshals, prosecutors, and doctors that led to Lapp's death in 2021 in Virginia prison.
Lapp, who was 62 years old at the time of his death, was detained in the Alexandria prison while he awaited sentencing on a federal bank robbery charge. Prosecutors claim that the 62-year-old stole the money for his alleged lover who was a Playboy model. He reportedly took his own life by hanging himself in his jail cell in May 2021, about a month after he entered a guilty plea and was scheduled to be transferred to a treatment facility in Butner, North Carolina, for his mental health care.
READ MORE
John McAfee called jail a 'horror' days before death: 'There is much sorrow in prison'
Devid R: Dad kills 3 daughters, wife and himself fearing jail for faking Covid pass
Who was Christopher Lapp?
Lapp, who was 62 at the time of his death, hanged himself while being detained in the Alexandria jail while awaiting sentencing. Lapp was a multi-degreed individual who also earned a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ralph Lapp, his father, was a scientist who participated in the Manhattan Project. At the time of his arrest, he had a $1.3 million house in an affluent area of Great Falls. In court documents, prosecutors claimed that Lapp was involved in several romantic relationships, including one with a Playboy model, and that "he was working to keep his romantic love interests happy with additional money," reports Daily Mail.
What did Lapp say in his chilling note?
Christopher Lapp penned a chilling last note that he left behind for his daughter. The letter read, "some bad people have been after me for a while. I have been trying to determine who they are but things are not good. It is better for everyone if I am not around so they can't harm others."
Why was Lapp arrested?
In November 2018, Lapp was accused of breaking into a Wells Fargo Bank in Great Falls and demanding cash from a teller with a pistol. Prosecutors claimed that he then carjacked a vehicle in order to flee. A K-9 officer traced Lapp to his house, where he was arrested. The robbery reportedly took place during a psychotic break, as described by the Lapp family's attorney, and a manic episode, as described by the court. He was originally deemed unfit for trial but after being sent to a Butner facility, his competency was reinstated.
Why did the treatment facility turn Lapp down?
Lapp chose to enter a guilty plea to the bank robbery allegation following the restoration of his competency. Despite accepting the guilty plea, the judge, TS Ellis III, mandated that Lapp returns to a Butner facility while he awaited sentencing so he could continue the therapy that had helped him. He was turned down by the treatment because, according to their policy, they were not allowed to take an inmate who had not yet received a sentence for "continuity of care purposes." Lapp decided he didn't need his medicines, so a doctor who had examined him there stopped giving them to him while he was still in the Alexandria jail. Additionally, the doctor claimed the facility did not deliver Lapp's complete medical file.
'Many state employees clearly behaved improperly'
Victor Glasberg, the legal representative for the Lapp family, expressed sorrow that a lawsuit was needed. "Many state employees clearly behaved improperly, and a man died. Now his 16-year-old daughter must file a lawsuit against them," he stated.