Aaron Dishong, the man accused of starting a fire that claimed the life of a 3-year-old boy, was found dead in his jail cell Friday morning.

The investigation into Dishong's death is still very early, and authorities are only say it appears Dishong took his own life by means of hanging.

While a trial is no longer necessary, on Friday, both the defense and prosecution reflected on the innocent life police said Dishong took last month.

"My colleague sent me a text earlier this morning giving me the bad news," said Dishong's defense attorney, Thomas Dickey. "What can one say?"

Dickey said he was shocked to hear the news of his client's death.

"If everything happened the way the commonwealth says it happened, my client unfortunately died at his own hands," said Dickey. "This poor young child did not."

Blair County Prison Warden Michael Johnston told 6 News Dishong had been on suicide watch specifically, level two of a three-scale tier. Johnston said Dishong was checked on every 15 minutes. But when the guards went around shortly after 6 a.m.Friday, they discovered Dishong had hanged himself, the warden said.

Dishong had been in court just two days earlier for his preliminary hearing, where he listened to emotional testimony from 3-year-old Darrel Etchison's mother and a woman who said Dishong had admitted to her he set the fire.

"The case is just so overwhelming, it's unbelievable," said Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio. "Possibly that's what contributed to his deciding to take his own life. I don't know."

Now that Dishong is no longer  around, the case comes to an end. But not for the Etchison family.

"His death doesn't make things right," said Consiglio. "The real tragedy here, and the only tragedy as far as I'm concerned, is the fact that a 3-year-old boy is dead as the result of his actions."

"My client getting the electric chair, he hanging himself, whatever sequence of events you want to come up with, none of them end the pain and suffering and horror this poor family had to go through," said Dickey. "I just can't imagine."

The District Attorney's Office said it is aware of a note that Dishong left behind in his cell. The office wouldn't go into specifics about it but said it did not contain any information about the alleged crime.