Michigan prisoner serving life sentences for 3 murders dies after being found unresponsive

A man serving life sentences at a Michigan prison after he was convicted of three murders in 2006 is dead after he was found unresponsive in his cell on Wednesday, according to the state's Department of Corrections.

Patrick Selepak was serving his time at Baraga Correctional Facility in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A spokesperson for the state agency said lifesaving efforts were performed on him before he was taken to an emergency room, where he later died.

"Based on the evidence at the scene, the death was caused by an act of self-harm," the agency said in a written statement. 

Selepak pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in the deaths of Scott and Melissa Berels of New Baltimore, Michigan, officials said. According to the Detroit Free Press, he was also convicted of murder in the death of 52-year-old Winfield Johnson of Genesee County, Michigan. 

In 2023, Selepak was accused of assaulting a fellow inmate at the Macomb County Correctional Facility.