Middletown — The father of a Deep River man who admitted to killing his mother at Christmastime is questioning how his son, who was on a suicide watch, could seriously harm himself while being held at Garner Correctional Institution.

Robert Rankin said Tuesday he was told his 23-year-old son Robert O. Rankin, known as Bobby, jumped over a second floor railing last month.

Bobby Rankin, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia, appeared in Middletown Superior Court in a wheelchair, wearing a metal halo on his head and a cast on his right arm. Bobby Rankin's attorney, Dennis McMahon, said his client damaged three cervical discs in the fall, which he said could have killed his client.

A Department of Correction spokesman said he could not comment because he hadn't seen an incident report.