CHICAGO — A Cook County Jail inmate who died earlier this month was killed by a cellmate, authorities said Thursday.
Tony Purnell, 42, was serving a six-month sentence for contempt when he was attacked by another inmate in the early hours of June 23, said Cara Smith, executive director of the jail.
Purnell suffered severe head trauma, and was unconscious when officers found him, about 40 seconds after the beating started, Smith said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died July 23 at 12:47 a.m. An autopsy determined he died of head trauma, and called his death a homicide.
"Just a tragic case," Smith said. She said she expects charges will be brought against the inmate who allegedly killed Purnell. The inmate is 24, and was in pre-trial detention on a trespassing charge, Smith said. That case was dismissed a few days after the attack.
Purnell was living in a unit with five other inmates in the jail's mental health ward at Cermak Hospital. Purnell's injuries were "so severe he was unconscious when they found him," she said. He had shown no brain activity over the past month, Smith said.
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