HOUSTON COUNTY, TX - An inmate who pleaded guilty to brutally killing his wife was found dead late Friday night inside his prison cell in Houston County, according to a state death report.
Jared James Dicus, 24, of Waller County, was discovered hanging by the neck in a single-occupancy cell at the Wainwright Unit. Prison staff initiated life-saving measures after he was found, but those efforts were unsuccessful. Dicus was pronounced dead by responding EMS personnel just before 11 p.m.
Dicus pleaded guilty in 2024 to the murder of his wife, Anggy Diaz. Prosecutors said Diaz was decapitated inside the couple’s home in January 2023, only months after the two were married in October 2022. The case drew widespread attention due to the extreme violence involved.
Following his guilty plea, Dicus was sentenced to 40 years in prison and transferred to the Wainwright Unit, where he had been serving his sentence at the time of his death.
The circumstances surrounding his death remain under review, as is standard procedure in inmate deaths. No additional details have been released by state officials.
