Coroner: Ex-Olympic Coach Killed Himself in Cell

An award-winning gymnastics coach facing disgrace and a long prison sentence suffocated himself in his jail cell, according to the Marion County Coroner's Office. Indianapolis resident Marvin Sharp, the USA Gymnastics 2010 coach of the year, was found dead on Sept. 19, weeks after his arrest on three counts of sexual misconduct and four counts of child molestation, and his death has now been ruled a suicide, WXIN reports. The coroner's office hasn't released details on what it calls a self-inflicted asphyxiation.

The 49-year-old, who coached two female Olympians in 2008, ran a gymnastics academy that he opened in 2001. He was arrested after a 14-year-old female student reported him to police, saying he had touched her inappropriately during training and photo sessions. Investigators found thousands of child porn images at Sharp's home and academy and, before his death, had been trying to determine whether he produced any of the images, the Indianapolis Star reports. (More gymnastics stories.)