Four Inmates Found Dead at Kirkland Correctional Institution

Four prisoners were found dead at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina.

During a press conference held on Saturday, Bryan Stirling, the Corrections Department Director, declared that the State Law Department issued and served two arrest warrant for two inmates held at the Kirkland Correctional Institution, located in South Carolina.

According to Stirling, 25-year-old Jacob Philip, and 35-year-old Denver Simmons, both serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, have killed four prisoners on Friday morning, by luring them in an empty cell.

Corrections Department Director Bryan Stirling recently stated that an internal investigation has begun in a South Carolina prison to determine how two inmates joined forces in order to kill four other prisoners.

The scene of these horrific crimes was an empty cell at the Kirkland Correctional Institution. Allegedly, Simmons and Philip lured their victims inside the empty cell and assaulted them with various makeshift weapons.

According to Gary Watts, the Richland County Coroner, two of the inmates Simmons and Philip killed have been stabbed multiple times with the back end of a broken broomstick. Moreover, citing the results of the autopsy, Watts declared that the first inmate was chocked with what appears to be a telephone cord.

The autopsy performed on the second inmate revealed that Philip and Simmons pinned him down to the floor before strangling him. As for the two other inmates who lost their lives on Friday, the Richland County coroner declared that the cause of death was strangulation.

What’s even more baffling is the fact that the four murders took place in a 30-minute interval. Moreover, Simmons and Philip were caught on camera while committing these atrocious deeds.

Although this is considered an on-going investigation, which means that some of the facts have not been made public, it would appear that the authorities have yet to establish the reason or reasons why the two South Carolina prison inmates decided to go on a murder rampage.

Stirling said that an internal investigation might also shed light on how the individuals were allowed to stay together. According to the inmates’ criminal records, it appears that both of them were serving a life sentence.

Simmons was arrested, trialed, and sentenced to life in prison back in 2007 after the authorities discovered that he murdered a woman in cold blood, stole her credit card, and used it to buy a pizza. Moreover, Simmons even picked up the woman’s child from school, drove him to a secluded spot and murdered him.

As for 25-year-old Philip, Director Stirling said that he was sent to prison back in 2013 for strangling his girlfriend and her child.

Image source: Flickr

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Tara Hamilton

Tara has graduated from the University of Oregon, with bachelors degree in Spanish Literature in 2010. She lived in Miami for one year and travelled extensively before settling down in El Paso.