Maryland inmate killed in Somerset County prison
An inmate at the Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover was found dead early Sunday, prompting a homicide investigation, according to Maryland State Police.
Donyell Morris, 24, was found unresponsive on his bunk around 5:40 p.m. Aug. 31, following reports that he had been housed in a cell with another inmate, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical services personnel.
A suspect, who is also an inmate, has been identified but is not being named pending further investigation. As of Monday, no charges had been filed.
The investigation is ongoing and will be reviewed by the Somerset County State's Attorney's Office, police said.
Other inmate deaths in Maryland
In Nov. 2024, a state prison inmate in Allegany County was murdered in his cell.
Then in December 2024, a Harford County man received two life sentences without the possibility of parole after he killed a man with an axe, and while in jail in Baltimore, murdered his cellmate.
In February 2025, Michael Griffin, an inmate at Jessup Correctional Institution in Anne Arundel County, was found dead. His death was ruled a homicide by the state medical examiner, and another inmate was identified as a suspect but has not been charged.