[NYP] A newspaper publisher set to stand trial in federal court next week for allegedly promoting prostitution on his now-defunct online classified ads site Backpage has died by suicide, according to local reports.James Larkin, 74, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in Superior, Ariz., on Monday, according to the Superior Police Department.
Investigators told the Phoenix New Times, the alternative weekly newspaper that Larkin co-founded, that no foul play was suspected in his death.
Calls to the family went unanswered on Friday.
Larkin is survived by his wife, Molly, and their six children.
Larkin, New Times co-founder Michael Lacey, and four other Backpage employees were due to be retried in Phoenix federal court on Tuesday for allegedly facilitating prostitution and money laundering.
In September 2021, a federal judge declared a mistrial in the case after ruling that prosecutors improperly invoked sex trafficking even though none of the defendants were ever charged with the crime.
Larkin, Lacey and four others were accused of taking part in a scheme to knowingly sell ads for sex on the site.