Bill Keating, Montague County's former sheriff who faced up to a decade in federal prison for a sexual assault and was accused in a jail sex scandal, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 62.
After working in his yard late Thursday afternoon and telling his wife he felt lightheaded, Keating was found slumped over and not breathing. That's what his attorney Mark Daniel tells The Associated Press. Daniel says that Keating, who lived near Forestburg, about 60 miles northwest of Fort Worth, apparently died of a heart attack.
His body was sent to the Dallas County medical examiner for an autopsy, but it appears Keating died of natural causes. That's according to Montague County Chief Deputy J.T. Mitchell.
Because Keating died before he was sentenced, his federal conviction is not considered final and his case will be dismissed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert, who was prosecuting the case, said that after he receives Keating's death certificate he will submit a motion to the federal judge to dismiss the indictment -- possibly next week.
