Editor's note: This story deals with suicide and contains graphic content.
A Forrest General Hospital employee was found dead on the Hattiesburg hospital's campus in an apparent suicide. His family is struggling for answers.
Engaged with new and promising job prospects and plans to adopt another pet with his fiancée, his family said they had no indication of what was to come.
Nickolas Rogness, 33, was found dead in his car by his fiancée Samantha Kittel between midnight and 1 a.m. on Aug. 13, Kittel and Rogness' mother Sharon Rogness told the Hattiesburg American.
Nickolas Rogness graduated from William Carey University's School of Pharmacy in May 2025 and had been working at Forrest General since around February 2026, according to his mother. Rogness comes from a medical family. Sharon said that Rogness' father and brothers were all involved in the medical field.
The Hattiesburg American requested police reports regarding the death of Rogness from Forrest County General Hospital. Forrest Health declined, citing sections 25-61-3(f) and 25-61-12(2)(a)of the Mississippi Public Records Act. The first defines an investigative report and the second exempts investigative reports from the chapter governing access to public records.
After initially saying the hospital would find someone to comment, they have not made any statement.
Kittel said she believed that her fiancé had been enjoying his job in the time leading up to his death.
"He was really, really excited for it," Kittel said Aug. 17. "His dad worked in the ICU at Forrest General for a pretty long while. I'm not exactly sure how long, but for a good bit of time, and you know, he was really excited to work there. From what I could tell he always really enjoyed it."
Approximately a week before his death, family members said Rogness had been made aware of a job opening that would allow him to move from the chemotherapy specialized part of the pharmacy to the main hospital. The new position would also allow Rogness, who commuted to Hattiesburg from Gulfport daily, to work longer hours but fewer days, according to Kittel.
Rogness discussed the new opportunity with Kittel, ultimately deciding to take the new position. Kittel said that Rogness went into the hospital on Monday, Aug. 10, to accept and was told to take the rest of the week off before returning to work on Friday, Aug. 14, to start the new job. Hospital officials have not responded to repeated requests to confirm the status of his employment at the time of his death.
On Wednesday, Aug. 12, Kittel said Rogness messaged her that he had to drive up to Hattiesburg to fill out paperwork for the new position. Kittel did not hear from Rogness for the rest of the day.
"I assumed that he had just been pulled into training or they started his training early," Kittel said. "I mean hospital schedules are crazy, so it wasn't unusual for me to not hear from him for several hours."
Later that night after still never hearing from Rogness, Kittel said she drove up to Hattiesburg and found him dead in his car.
"All she knows is that he did not come home Wednesday," Sharon Rogness said. "He had texted her, 'I love you,' and she was busy at work and didn't answer. She tried to contact him through phone texts throughout the afternoon and he never came home, which was extremely unusual. And so, she ended up driving to the hospital at around midnight or 1 a.m. and found him, my dear sweet baby, in the car where he had apparently ended his own life."
Kittel said the family remains confused.
"It has been causing a lot of confusion because, you know, they had just told him about this new position and offered him this job," Kittel said "So there's a lot of, you know, just questions and confusion."
Death records confirm he died on Aug. 13, and Kittel said Rogness' cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Background searches reveal no criminal history, judgments, liens or bankruptcies. Kittel also said the family did not find a suicide note.
His public obituary from Forrest Funeral Home in Hattiesburg noted he "had a great sense of humor about him, and with his kind and caring nature, quickly put people at ease around him no matter what was going on."
Born in Memphis, Rogness graduated from high school in Hattiesburg before getting an undergraduate degree at Mississippi State prior to starting at William Carey.
According to Sharon, Nickolas Rogness had been "extremely happy" in his personal life. He had recently gotten a custom-made engagement ring made for Kittel, with whom he had been a relationship for nearly eight years. He and Kittel were also planning on adopting a dog to add to the five cats, mouse and snake that the couple already owned.
"He loved (those animals) with his whole chest," Kittel said.
On Sept. 1, Sharon told the Hattiesburg American that she had spoken with an attorney regarding Rogness' death. It is unclear what legal steps that family will take.
"I'm still in shock," Sharon said Aug. 17. "I am literally in shock. But I want justice and that's what's fueling me right now."
"He was a really good person," Kittel said. "I want people to know who he was. They literally haven't put out anything about this, you know, and I hate that it's not even getting acknowledged by the hospital."
The incident was the second apparent suicide at Forrest General in the middle of August. A suspected murder-suicide happened at Forrest General on Aug. 14.
Forrest General Hospital did not comment on what took place in that case, but Forrest County Coroner Lisa Klem confirmed to the Hattiesburg American that two individuals died as a result of the incident.
Davis Wilson covers Southern Miss athletics and Hattiesburg news for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X at @Davis_Wilson.
If you or someone you know are considering suicide, dial the toll-free 988 lifeline, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. More resources are available at 988lifeline.org.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Pharmacy worker commits suicide outside MS hospital. Family begs to know why