LANSING — An inmate was found dead in his cell at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia Aug. 19 and his cellmate is suspected of killing him, a Michigan State Police spokesman said.
It's the second similar incident at the prison in less than five months.
The 36-year-old victim was found unresponsive with signs of trauma, Special Lt. Pat Agema told the Detroit Free Press Aug. 20.
A 39-year-old man who shared the two-person cell with the victim is the suspect in the killing, Agema said.
Jenni Riehle, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Corrections, identified the inmate who died as Kevin Joseph Kelly, in an Aug. 20 email to the Free Press.
Kelly was sentenced for aggravated stalking in Wayne County last September, records show.
"After
being discovered unresponsive in his two-person cell, staff immediately responded and EMS was called but Kelly was ultimately pronounced deceased at the scene," Riehle said. "The death is currently under investigation as a suspected homicide."
A relative of Kelly's could not immediately be reached for comment.
Investigations by the MDOC and the MSP are continuing and no further details were immediately released by either agency.
In another suspected homicide at the same prison on March 27, Joshua Ray McGehee, 40, "was found unresponsive in his cell," MDOC spokeswoman Jenni Riehle confirmed March 30.
Michael Ryan Brewer, 35, who was identified by MSP in March as McGehee's cellmate, is charged with open murder and is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 17 in Ionia District Court, records show.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Officials investigate 2nd inmate homicide at Michigan prison
