Mikel Livingston, Ron Wilkins, Dartunorro Clark and Steven Porter, Journal & Courier

Convicted Purdue shooter Cody Cousins was found Tuesday dead by suicide in his Michigan City prison cell.

The Indiana Department of Corrections confirmed the death Wednesday of the man who in January entered a Purdue University classroom and shot and stabbed fellow student Andrew Boldt.

Cousins, 24, was found unresponsive in his cell during a routine security check just before 9 p.m. Tuesday. He was found with self-inflicted lacerations to his neck and both arms. Prison staff attempted to revive Cousins to no avail.

Cousins was declared dead at approximately 9:20 p.m. Tuesday.

"It appears he used a razor to self inflict wounds to his neck and arms," said Doug Garrison, Indiana Department of Corrections spokesman.

Inmates are allowed razors to shave, Garrison said.

Cousins was serving a 65-year sentence for Boldt's murder. He arrived at the Indiana State Prison on Oct. 23 and was being housed in a unit for new arrivals.

Cousins was sentenced in September in a trial that captivated those in attendance. There, several mental health professionals shared differing views on Cousins' mental state. One said Cousins suffered from schizophrenia leading up to and during the murder while another said he had bipolar disorder and did not show symptoms at the time of the killing.

When Cousins finally spoke — the first time the public heard his voice — those gathered in the packed courtroom were eager to hear his rationalization for what Dr. Elmo Griggs, who has conducted more than 10,000 autopsies, called "the worst homicide I've ever seen."

In that statement, Cousins claimed he used his knowledge of mental health to fake a mental illness.

"I killed Andrew Boldt because I wanted to, and I do what I want," Cousins said.

Dr. Steven Berger, a Wabash Valley Alliance staff psychiatrist who evaluated Cousins and testified during the trial, said "there are two ways to make sense of any suicide."

Cousins either killed himself due to his mental illness or simply decided to kill himself without any psychological symptoms involved, Berger said.

Berger testified last month Cousins suffered from a mental illness but that the illness didn't play a part in the murder. The same could have happened in the case of Cousins' decision to kill himself.

"If it was due to mental illness, a prison might beef up its approach to treating mental illness," Berger said. "If it's due to his decision, there isn't a lot the jail can do about it."

Garrison said Cousins had had no problems or incidents during the time he'd been in DOC custody. The death is under investigation by the prison's Internal Affairs Office and the LaPorte County Coroner's Office.

The Boldt family declined to comment on Cousins' death.

Cousins' attorney, Kirk Freeman, said he was notified this morning that Cousins had been found dead.

"My only comment would be that what I said at the sentencing hearing stands," Freeman said. "He is so sick he doesn't know how sick he is."

Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Pat Harrington also learned of the death Wednesday.

"It's an unusual twist to a tragic case," Harrington said.

Professor David Meyer said he heard of Cousins' death but had no comment. It was Meyer's classroom in which Boldt's murder took place.

Purdue spokeswoman Liz Evans said the university "respectfully declines to comment."

Cousins' body has been transported to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Mishawaka, said LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan. Sullivan confirmed that as of 1:15 p.m. the autopsy was underway.

On campus in the hours after word of Cousins' death broke and began making the rounds on social media, most students were going about their normal day.

"It's a bummer," said Sarah Dietrich, a sophomore. "We never found out why he actually did it. It's sad that no one got any closure."

Jeffrey Avery, a Purdue graduate student studying computer science, said the whole situation is unfortunate. Now, he said, both the Boldt and the Cousins families have lost sons in a senseless situation.

"The whole situation is sad for the families," Avery said.