Macomb County prison inmate found dead after cellmate stabbed
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Authorities are investigating both a stabbing and a death Tuesday inside the Macomb Correctional Facility.
Michigan Department of Corrections Public Information Officer Chris Gautz said it started after breakfast.
"On his way back from those chow lines he began to attack another prisoner heading back to their housing unit, and began to stab that prisoner multiple times in the back and the arm and in the face," Gautz said.
The prisoner who was stabbed about six times was treated at a hospital and released.
However, when investigators were checking the victim's cell for contraband, they found his cellmate dead.
"What they found inside sadly was that prisoner’s cellmate who was severely injured. Staff immediately worked to perform lifesaving measures, but he was ultimately declared deceased," Gautz said.
It's not yet clear how the cellmate was killed.
The names of those involved have not been released, but prison officials say the attacker is a 44-year-old man serving a 44 to 70-year sentence, with another 60-plus years to go, on counts of kidnappings, running a meth lab, felony firearms, and more.
State corrections sources say the cellmate who was killed was a 28-year-old serving a 3 to 20-year sentence who was eligible for parole. Sources say he was in prison on several counts, including armed robbery, assaulting a prison employee, and felony firearms.
Now, officials are trying to figure out what happened, and what lead to this.
"Those are all things that we are looking at. The prisoners so far have not been sharing many details," Gautz said.
It’s the second time a prisoner was murdered at the same facility this year. Police say 55-year-old Elrick Cooper killed an inmate in May.
Cooper was transferred to the Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility. The attacker in Tuesday's stabbing will also be moved to a higher security prison.
"Obviously you never want to rule anything out, but at this time we don’t have any indication that the two would be connected in any way," Gautz said.