Death of rape suspect in King County Jail declared suicide

In the months since Sankarandi Skanda demanded the right to represent himself in court against charges of rape, robbery and burglary, his intensity appeared to wane.

On Thursday, the lanky man with thick eyebrows and close-cropped hair sat quietly at the defense table asking few questions of the state's witnesses. It was a far cry from the early days of the trial when he fashioned a defense based on a claim — which some called far-fetched — that he was being falsely accused by a woman who once asked Skanda to kill her husband.

Skanda, also known as Franklin Antill, was found dead inside his cell at the King County Jail early Friday. Authorities say that a noose he fashioned out of bedsheets was tied around his neck and a hefty stack of trial paperwork was jammed against the cell door in an apparent attempt to keep jail staff from getting inside.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled Skanda's death a suicide. Jail officials say that a suicide note has not been found.

Seattle police Detective Christopher Young, who investigated the Wallingford rape, said Skanda recently "made some offhand comment about 'I'm sailing this ship into the ground.' "

"He seemed more focused on preparing for appeals," Young said.

Defense attorney Gary Davis, who acted as Skanda's legal adviser, said Skanda repeatedly threatened to commit suicide while serving time in an Idaho prison a decade ago on burglary charges. But, Davis said, Skanda hadn't talked about harming himself during his King County trial.

"Frank was somebody who wanted to be in control. He was pretty guarded," Davis said.

After the case was dismissed Monday, jurors were eager to talk about their perceptions of Skanda and his defense. Several jurors said they would have voted him guilty on all charges.

"Guilty, guilty, guilty," said juror Alice Sieger of Seattle. "He had no credibility."

Dennis Ferguson, a juror from Kent, said that "nothing supported his case at all."

"I got the feeling that [the jury] felt he was 100 percent guilty," Ferguson said.

At the time of his death, Skanda was under investigation for drug possession after jail officers found two small packets of what appeared to be heroin inside his cell about two weeks ago, authorities said. King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Julie Kays said that Skanda also had stolen crime-scene photos from the courtroom.

Prosecutors were expected to rest the state's case on Monday, and Skanda would have started presenting evidence against the allegation that he broke into the Wallingford home Oct. 20 and confronted the 34-year-old woman while she was paying bills. Police said Skanda put a knife to the woman's throat and demanded money before raping her and stealing her credit card.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com