Drew Planten in court

(RALEIGH) -- The man accused of killing Stephanie Bennett, 23, nearly four years ago was removed from suicide watch about two months before killing himself.

Drew Planten hanged himself in Raleigh's Central Prison on Monday afternoon.

Authorities say he was removed from suicide watch because medical authorities believed he was no longer a risk to himself.

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Planten was awaiting trial on charges of the rape and murder of Bennett. He was also under investigation in connection with the shooting death of Rebecca Huismann, a Lansing, Michigan woman, in 1999.

Since his arrest in October, Planten had been uncooperative. He wouldn't open his eyes or eat while in prison and he had to be wheeled into and out of court.