WEST HAVEN, CT — The death of a West Haven man while he was in custody at a New Haven jail has been ruled a homicide and is now being investigated by state authorities.

The State's Attorney's Office announced Thursday that it is investigating the death of Carl R. Talbot, 30, who died March 21 while in custody at the Community Correctional Center in New Haven. According to the preliminary investigation, Talbot was placed in restraints at approximately 6:45 a.m. after being non-compliant. He was found unresponsive in his cell at approximately 8:57 a.m. and was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, St. Raphael Campus, where he was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m., according to authorities. The Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad responded to the scene and assumed the investigation. Talbot had been remanded to custody of the Department of Correction by his parole officer two days before his death.

An autopsy was conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which certified the cause of death as "sudden death due to physical struggle with restraint, atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease and morbid obesity" and the manner of death as homicide, according to officials. The Hartford Courant reports that Talbot had rigor mortis in his jaw and upper body by the time he was brought to Yale New Haven Hospital, which was more than two hours after a confrontation with correctional officers.

The investigation into the Talbot's death has been assigned to State's Attorney Margaret E. Kelley of the Ansonia-Milford Judicial District, in accordance with state statutes that require such investigations to be assigned to a State's Attorney from a judicial district other than that where the incident occurred (New Haven is in the Judicial District of New Haven). "We extend our condolences to Mr. Talbot's family on their tragic loss," Kelley said in a statement. "The State's Attorney's Office will be in contact with the family to assure that they are kept aware of the progress of the investigation, the purpose of which by statute is to determine the circumstances of the death and whether any use of force was appropriate under the law.