Drew Planten, facing a possible death sentence for the killing of Stephanie Bennett in 2002, hanged himself Monday in his cell at Central Prison, where he had been sent because of his near-catatonic demeanor.

Planten's death abruptly altered the investigation into the deaths of two women. A Wake County prosecutor said Monday that a gun found in Planten's apartment conclusively linked him with a 1999 killing in Michigan.

"There are so many questions I wanted to ask him," said Assistant District Attorney Susan Spurlin. "Those questions will never be answered."

An officer at the Raleigh prison found Planten's body about 2 p.m., said Keith Acree, N.C. Department of Correction spokesman.

Medical workers tried to resuscitate Planten, 35, at the prison hospital, but he was declared dead at 2:37 p.m., Acree said. He refused to give details about the suicide, citing a State Bureau of Investigation probe into the death.

Planten left no note.

Police arrested Planten, a fertilizer technician for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, on Oct. 19 after a DNA sample they obtained from his office matched semen found at the crime scene.

Investigators found Bennett's body May 21, 2002, in a room of her Lake Lynn apartment. Police think Planten entered Bennett's apartment by removing a screen and climbing through a window as she slept. Once inside, police said, he bound Bennett's wrists and ankles, gagged her and sexually assaulted her. Police think he later wrapped wire or rope around her throat and twisted it from behind until she died.

Planten was in Central Prison rather than the Wake County jail because he would not open his eyes or respond to guards and the county jail was not equipped to handle such a prisoner. Planten came to his first court appearance strapped to a gurney, his head held up by a restraint. With his eyes shut and his long brown hair hanging in his face, Planten appeared almost unconscious.

At Central Prison, he was held in a "safekeeping" cell, where he was to receive special attention, but he continued his impassiveness. He received four infractions for not cooperating with prison officers, Acree said. A few weeks ago, he began talking, eating and following orders, Acree said.

His 9-by-7-foot cell had a metal bunk, a toilet and sink fixture, and a locker to hold his belongings, Acree said. There was no camera inside the cell.

Planten's death stunned his attorney and Wake prosecutors.

Kirk Osborn, one of Planten's attorneys, said he hanged himself. He broke the news to Planten's mother, who lives in Michigan, and said she was devastated.

Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby said Planten's death meant Bennett's family would be spared a lengthy and intense murder trial. "At least the victim's family will not have to relive that event," Willoughby said.

Bennett's father, Carmon Bennett, did not return messages left at his home.

Planten's death ended a murder case that gripped Raleigh for three years.

Born in New Jersey and one of four sons, Planten moved to Michigan with his mother after his parents divorced. Neighbors, relatives and former teachers described him as painfully shy: He talked little, made no friends, never dated and avoided eye contact with neighbors.

Planten lived with his mother while he attended Michigan State University in East Lansing. He graduated with a zoology degree in 1995 and, after a string of temporary jobs, moved to Raleigh in 2000 to work for the Agriculture Department.

He rented an apartment near Lake Lynn in North Raleigh. His closest companion was his black Rottweiler. Neighbors knew him by the rust-covered Camaro he drove.

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