UPDATE: Charges filed in murder of Menard inmate
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Randolph County coroner has ruled another inmate death as a homicide at the Menard maximum-security prison in Chester in far southern Illinois.
Coroner Randy Dudenbostel says 35-year-old William Crowder died March 26 from "manual strangulation." The coroner classified the death as a homicide.
State's Attorney Jeremy Walker intends to file first-degree murder charges against a Menard inmate when he receives investigative reports.
He would not name the inmate but says the man is not due for release until 2013.
Crowder was found dead in his cell in the prison's segregation unit at 10:36 p.m. Crowder's was the third homicide since Jan. 31.
Walker previously filed murder charges against former Menard inmates for the deaths of 25-year-old Jason Hall and 64-year-old Yusuf Abuzir.
Inmate found hanged in Madison County jail cell
Hertz said the inmate had been jailed since August 24, 2011 on the following criminal charges: aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated unlawful restraint, solicitation to commit home invasion, solicitation to commit aggravated kidnapping, solicitation to commit residential burglary, and unlawful possession of contraband in a penal institution (for making homemade weapons at the county jail).
The solicitation and contraband charges were filed against the inmate Wednesday after detectives learned he was planning to attack the woman he allegedly sexually assaulted in August 2011. Guards at the county jail administered emergency medical treatment until Edwardsville Fire Department Emergency Medical Services arrived and determined the inmate had died. Per sheriff's office protocol, the Madison County Coroner's Office, Illinois State Police and the Illinois Department of Corrections were notified of the suicide and are conducting a joint investigation.
The inmate's name is not being released.
Inmate dies in Jackson, MO courtroom
The Southeast Missourian reports that Daniel Stroder of Wappapello, Mo., died Monday. He was in court in Jackson, Mo., for arraignment on felony charges that he violated probation by writing a bad check.
Coroner John Clifton says an autopsy is planned.
Sheriff John Jordan says Stroder was in court in front of a judge when he began to feel ill. The judge was preparing to furlough Stroder when he collapsed. Bailiffs offered aid until medical personnel arrived and took Stroder to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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