West Feliciana Parish Sheriff J. Austin Daniel told the Advocate Monday that authorities found 33-year-old Kriss Lane hanging in his cell at Angola’s main prison complex shortly before 3 p.m. Friday.
Lane, formerly of Ruskin, Fla., pleaded guilty in 2006 to manslaughter and simple robbery in the July 19, 2003, slaying of Atlanta lighting designer Shawn Johnson at a New Orleans hotel. Lane was accused of clubbing Johnson with a champagne bottle and holding his head under water in a hot tub until the victim died.
He was sentenced to 40 years for manslaughter and five years on the robbery count. He had been at Angola since July 2006.
