FERNLEY, NEVADA: The Lyon County Sheriff's Office has reported the death of Troy Driver, who was awaiting trial for the murder of Naomi Irion. Driver died as a result of self-inflicted asphyxiation while he was housed in a maximum-security jail cell with no contact with other inmates. Deputies conducting a routine hourly cell check found him unresponsive on Sunday, August 6 at approximately 6.15 pm.
Despite immediate life-saving measures, including CPR by jail personnel and medical assistance from the Yerington/Mason Valley Fire Department, Driver could not be revived. Subsequently, an outside agency, the Nevada State Police Division of Investigations, has been called upon to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. Further details concerning the investigation and the events leading to his death have not been released at this time. Troy Driver, 43, “was in custody on murder charges and awaiting trial, for the murder of Naomi Irion,” a press release said. He was “in a maximum security jail cell and had no contact with other inmates," it added.
The tragic timeline of Naomi Irion's disappearance and discovery
It should be noted that Naomi Irion went missing on March 12, 2022, after being abducted from a Walmart parking lot in Fernley, Nevada. Her body was discovered on March 29, 2022, in a remote area of Churchill County. At the time of his arrest, Driver faced charges of kidnapping and shooting Irion, as well as burying her body and attempting to conceal evidence related to the crime. The suspect had been apprehended just before Irion's body was discovered, more than two weeks after she had gone missing. He was denied bail in April owing to the murder charge.
According to Detective Erik Kusmerz, surveillance footage captured a man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt approaching Irion's car at 5.24 am, just a minute before the vehicle was seen leaving the parking lot with the man behind the wheel. Three days later, the car was found abandoned near the Walmart store.
Honoring Naomi Irion's memory
Naomi Irion's family prepared for the likelihood of a not-guilty plea from the suspect, feeling it was the expected course of action. As they approach the anniversary of the day she went missing, her sister, Cartwright, and her brother will visit the location where her body was discovered in the Nevada desert. There, they will lay rainbow roses on a makeshift memorial, a symbolic gesture that continues to honor her memory.
“In many ways, it still doesn’t seem real,” said Cartwright, who moved from Texas earlier this year. Being in Nevada is a way to feel closer to her sister, she added.
The small community of Fernley, 40 miles east of Reno, rallied to find Irion when she went missing. Rainbows, a symbol in her search, can still be found around town in murals. The local floral shop still sells a rainbow bouquet in her honor. “It helps knowing other people are still thinking about her, too,” Cartwright told the Reno Gazette Journal.
