MADISON, Wis. -- A former University of Wisconsin-Madison student accused of killing Madison resident Joel Marino in his home last January apparently attempted suicide in the Dane County Jail on Thursday morning.

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The Dane County Sheriff's Department said that at approximately 5:24 a.m. Thursday, a sheriff's deputy working in the City-County Building portion of the Dane County Jail was called to a suicide attempt by an inmate.

Sheriff's officials identified the inmate as a 20-year-old man from Stillwater, Minn., who is being held in the jail awaiting trial on first-degree intentional homicide charges.

Adam Peterson, 20, is the only inmate in the jail from Stillwater facing first-degree intentional homicide charges, WISC-TV reported.

Peterson apparently tried to hang himself in the shower with his jail-issued uniform pants. An inmate alerted a deputy, and they were able to free Peterson. At the time of the rescue, authorities said the inmate was conscious and alert.

At the time of the suicide attempt, Peterson was being housed in a special needs block of the City-County Building section of the jail. Following the attempt, he was transported to UW Hospital by Madison Fire Rescue for evaluation.

"He was conscious and alert at the time, and the deputy, with the help of the inmate, was able to get him down, and fire and rescue responded and did transport him to UW Hospital to be evaluated," said Elise Schaffer, a public information officer for the Dane County Sheriff's Department.

Schaffer said the special needs cell into which Peterson was moved has eight individual cells. They are closer to the deputies' station for better monitoring of inmates with various medical and mental health needs, WISC-TV reported.

Peterson has since returned to the jail, where he is being housed in segregation under suicide watch and is being checked every 15 minutes.

It's the second suicide attempt or suicide by a high-profile defendant at the county jail in about three and a half years.

In 2005, triple slaying defendant Meng-Ju Wu hung himself by looping a sheet through a sprinkler head, just a few days before his trial on charges he killed three people in Verona.

Peterson was wearing a suicide smock on July 1, when he made his initial appearance on a charge he killed Marino. However, a sheriff's department representative said Peterson was taken off suicide watch and out of segregation three weeks later, WISC-TV reported.

"It's really a determination of the mental health staff whether or not someone is being cared for on a suicide watch or if they're in the general population, or if in this case they're in a special needs cell," said Schaffer.

It's estimated Peterson is the 35th person to attempt suicide at the Dane County Jail so far this year, though Schaffer said the number is probably higher.

Still, she said staff and deputies are doing their very best to evaluate inmates and keep them safe.