Officials: Man Accused Of Orchestrating Murder Of Radio Host Wife Found Dead In Jail Cell

HUDSON COUNTY, N.J. (CBS/AP) -- The man charged with orchestrating the murder of his radio host wife in 2012 was found dead in his jail cell.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office says that Dr. James Kauffman, 68, was found dead of an apparent suicide inside his cell Friday morning at Hudson County Correctional Center.

"The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office can confirm that we were notified by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office that James Kauffman died in an apparent suicide on Friday morning, January 26, 2018. The investigation is continuing and we will have no further comment at this time," the office said in a statement.

Sources tell CBS3 that Kauffman took a strip of his bed sheet and killed himself while his cellmate was in court. His body was found at 9:20 a.m.

Sources also say that Kauffman left behind a six-page suicide note.

Husband Of Slain New Jersey Radio Host April Kauffman Charged In Her 2012 Murder

Kauffman was charged with arranging the 2012 killing of his wife, April, to prevent her from exposing an illegal drug distribution ring he was running with the Pagans biker gang.

Officials say in the summer of 2011, Kauffman solicited Ferdinand Augello to murder his wife because she was threatening a divorce and threatening to expose his drug enterprise which would cause him to "lose his empire."

Kauffman had been the subject of death threats after his arrest, prompting his transfer from the Atlantic County Jail in Mays Landing, New Jersey, to the Hudson County jail nearly 100 miles north. Authorities said the switch was made for his own protection.

April Kauffman was found shot to death in May 2012 inside of their Linwood home.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)