Former professional mixed martial artist War Machine, who is in jail after being accused of trying to kill his ex-girlfriend, has attempted to commit suicide at the Las Vegas jail where he is detained.
Authorities said that 32-year old Jonathan Koppenhaver, who legally changed his name to War Machine in 2008, tried to hang himself in his Clark County Jail cell on Tuesday evening and was found by a guard on a routine walkthrough.
The guard went into Koppenhaver's cell after he was called and did not respond. There, the officer found a piece of linen around War Machine's neck, which was tied to the bed's leg.
The former MMA fighter was unresponsive and had difficulty breathing when he was found but police said that he has since recovered. War Machine left a suicide note in his cell and authorities have now placed him in medical isolation and on a suicide watch.
Koppenhaver was arrested on Aug. 15 a week after he reportedly beat his former girlfriend Christy Mack. The 23-year old porn actress told authorities that Koppenhaver went to her house unannounced in the early hours of Aug. 8 and found her and a friend, Corey Thomas, sleeping.
Koppenhaver then started to beat Thomas and after threatening and sending him away, turned to Mack beating her savagely she feared for her life. Mack suffered several broken bones in her face, lost teeth and ruptured liver. Mack also said that her former boyfriend sexually assaulted her that day.
"I also attained several lesions from a knife he got from my kitchen. He pushed the knife into me in some areas such as my hand, ear, and head," Mack wrote about the attack. "He also sawed much of my hair off with this dull knife. After some time, the knife broke off of the handle and continued to threaten me with the blade. I believed I was going to die."
Brandon Sua, Koppenhaver's attorney, said that his client's anxiety and depression has worsened since he was arrested in August.
The tattooed brawler, who was caught in a Los Angeles suburb, is being held without bail for 32 felony charges, the most serious of which is attempted murder. He also faced charges of sexual assault, battery and kidnapping. A preliminary hearing had been set on Friday. Koppenhaver faces the possibility of being sentenced to life in prison.
