Family of nuclear physicist who died by suicide in Virginia jail cell sues

The family of a nuclear physicist who committed suicide while locked up in a Virginia jail cell is suing the US Government, claiming the scientist would still be alive if his medication was not discontinued and he was not denied admission to a federal medical prison.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Thursday on behalf of Christopher Lapp’s 16-year-old daughter, claims that a number of errors by several prison officials, federal marshals, prosecutors and doctors caused the scientist to take his own life.

“Numerous public employees manifestly failed to act properly, and a man died. Now his 16-year-old daughter has to take them to court,”said Victor Glasberg, the Lapp’s family attorney.

Lapp was being held at the Alexandria jail awaiting his sentencing for federal bank robbery charge when he hanged himself in May, 2001, even though a judge had ordered that he be moved to the federal medical prison center in North Carolina to continue receiving treatment for his mental health.

He was 62-years-old when he died.

Lapp had multiple degrees, including a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His father, Ralph Lapp, was a renowned scientist who worked on the Manhattan project.

In Nov. 2018, Lapp walked into a Wells Fargo with a gun and demanded the teller hand over money. He carjacked a vehicle to flee the scene, prosecutors said. He was tracked down by a K-9 officer and arrested.

At the time of the robbery, the successful scientist lived in a $1.3 million home in the affluent town of Great Falls in Fairfax County. 

Prosecutors alleged that Lapp had multiple romantic interests, including a Playboy model, and that “he was working to keep his romantic love interests happy with additional money.”

A federal judge said Lapp was going through a manic episode at the time, and the Lapp’s family lawyer described it as a psychotic break. He was initially ruled mentally unfit to stand trial, but had his competency restored at the Butner, North Carolina medical prison center.

Once back in a competent mental state, Lapp decided to plead guilty to the bank robbery charge. Judge, T.S. Ellis III accepted the plea bargain, but ordered that Lapp be returned to the medical prison center in North Carolina to continue his treatment.

However, the facility denied his return, claiming their policy barred them from taking an inmate who had not yet been sentenced for “continuity of care purposes.”

So instead, Lapp remained in the Alexandria jail. He was evaluated there by a physician who ended Lapp’s medications after he told the doctor he did not need it. The physician said the North Carolina facility failed to send over Lapp’s complete medical records.

He hanged himself in his cell roughly one month after he pleaded guilty. He left behind a note for his daughter, writing that “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.”

After Lapp’s suicide, Ellis put officials of the Butner facility on blast for refusing his orders.

The judge conceded that he was also partially to blame — Lapp’s defense attorney had filed notice to the court in late April that Butner refused to admit Lapp, but Ellis said he was unaware that Lapp was never transferred.

With Post Wires