An inmate stabbed another inmate to death at Mount Olive Correctional Complex on Saturday afternoon, according to state officials.
Troopers believe Steven D. Branscome, 40, stabbed Russell L. Hager, 47, several times in the head and neck using a metal shank, according to Lt. Michael Baylous, spokesman for the West Virginia State Police.
Sgt. J.L. Milam with the Gauley Bridge detachment of the State Police responded to the incident at about 2:15 p.m. He found Hager in the weight yard of the prison.
Baylous didn't know the motive or the men's charges.
Whether the Division of Corrections could have prevented the death will likely not be determined by an outside agency.
State Police are investigating and the Division of Corrections is also conducting an internal review. But according to Baylous, the State Police investigation will focus more on the particular incident than whether policies meant to protect inmates were followed. He said whether the Division of Corrections erred in any way will likely be determined by the division's own internal review, unless during the State Police investigation troopers notice a blatant error.
In an email, Lawrence Messina, spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, said that an inmate killed another inmate using a "makeshift weapon" during a fight, and said that corrections would conduct an internal review.
He did not respond to questions about how the death could have been prevented.
"We are awaiting information from investigators before providing further details," Messina said.
The incident was at least the second death at Mount Olive in less than a year.
On June 12, 2015, David Munday, 50, of Hedgesville, died after suffering some sort of "medical episode" after attacking a counselor.
Messina said at the time that prison staff responded to assist the counselor and restrain Munday, and in the course of doing so a correctional officer was injured.
Once Munday was restrained, Messina said he suffered some sort of "medical episode." Munday was taken to the prison's medical unit and staff attempted to provide aid, but he died.
Messina said at the time that the state Medical Examiner's Office would perform an autopsy to determine cause of death. He did not immediately respond to an email about whether cause of death had been determined in that case on Monday.
Messina said the last time an inmate under the custody of the Division of Corrections was killed by another inmate was in 2013.
The highest risk inmates under the custody of the West Virginia Division of Corrections are housed at Mount Olive, the state's only maximum security prison.
As of Monday morning, 1,023 inmates were incarcerated at Mount Olive, according to Messina.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.