Lyon County Sheriff’s Office reveals Troy Driver suicide was third attempt, note left in Aug. during first attempt
Wednesday morning, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office held a news conference for the media in Yerington regarding the recent suicide of Troy Driver, the suspected killer of 18-year-old Naomi Irion.
The following details are graphic in nature.
According to Lyon County Sheriff Brad Pope, Driver had attempted suicide twice before while in custody.
The first attempt occurred in August 2022 when driver attempted to hang himself, and the second March 2023 when he attempted to cut his wrists.
During his first suicide attempt, Driver wrote a confession letter to his girlfriend, according to Pope, which was delivered hidden within a deck of cards.
According to Pope, the letter did not include specifics on his alleged crime, but he did admit guilt within the letter. He wrote that “nothing I did was sexually motivated.”
The girlfriend turned over the note to the sheriff’s office to assist in the investigation.
He was successful in his attempt Aug. 6, 2023 when Driver hung himself in his cell using a bedsheet and shirt.
Lyon County Sheriff Brad Pope called Driver a “coward” and said that he knew Driver “preyed on the vulnerability of an innocent young woman, Naomi Irion.”
According to Pope, Driver was seen alive in his cell around 5:22 p.m. during hourly checks.
During the subsequent check at 6:17 p.m., Driver was found hanging inside his cell. First responders arrived just after 6:30 p.m., and he was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m.
Driver was taken into custody on March 25, 2022 for involvement into the disappearance of Irion.
Irion’s body was discovered on March 29, 2022 in a remote part of Churchill County near Coal Canyon Road, buried within a shallow grave. On March 30, the remains were confirmed to belong to Irion, and her disappearance was officially investigated as a homicide.
For more information on the case, please see our previous reporting here.