Inmate killed in Indiana prison's mental health un

[Basher]

Inmate killed in Indiana prison's mental health unit

Carlisle - Authorities say an inmate in a southern Indiana prison's mental health unit was fatally strangled by another prisoner.

The attack Saturday at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility killed 25-year-old Patrick Whetstone. Prison spokesman Rich Larsen says Whetstone's cellmate in the Special Needs Unit was placed into segregation pending the outcome of a criminal investigation.

A motive for the attack at the prison near Carlisle in Sullivan County was not immediately known.

Whetstone was serving a 17-year sentence from Kosciusko County for burglary and other charges. He had a separate conviction on battery by solid waste charges in Sullivan County and was scheduled for release in October.

[Basher]

Cellmate blamed in prison slaying
Holly AbramsThe Journal GazetteAdvertisement

Officials say a Wabash Valley Correctional Facility inmate likely died Saturday at the hands of a fellow inmate who was convicted in Steuben County.


Corrections officers found 25-year-old Patrick Whetstone wounded in his cell, within the prison’s mental illness treatment unit, during a routine block check just after 6 a.m. Saturday, according to Rich Larsen, a spokesman for the Carlisle facility.


Whetstone was taken by ambulance to Sullivan County Community Hospital, where he died about an hour later. His death was ruled a homicide, caused by strangulation, according to the Sullivan County Coroner’s Office.


Whetstone’s cellmate, Luis Silveria, 37, has been segregated from the other inmates pending the outcome of a criminal investigation, jointly conducted by jail officials and Indiana State Police, Larsen said.


Silveria and Whetsone had been cellmates since June 30, Larsen said. No information on a motive for the killing was released Monday. Instead investigators will turn their case over to Sullivan County prosecutors for review for possible criminal charges.


Whetstone was scheduled for release in October. He was serving a 17-year prison sentence for convictions in Kosciusko County for theft, burglary, forgery and receiving stolen property. Whetstone additionally was convicted of battery by bodily waste, while in Sullivan County, Larsen said.


Silveria, admitted in September 2003, was due for release in November 2014. He is serving Steuben County convictions for resisting law enforcement, criminal recklessness, theft, intimidation and failing to stop after an accident.