APPARENT MURDER OF STATE PRISON INMATE INVESTIGATED

(JESSUP, MD) -- Maryland State Police homicide investigators are investigating the apparent murder of a state prison inmate found dead in his cell early this morning in Anne Arundel County.

The inmate victim is identified as Robert J. Tunnell, 21, who was serving a six year sentence for a sex offense. Tunnell was pronounced dead at the scene.

A suspect has been identified as a state prison inmate who was the cellmate of the victim. Charges against him are pending and he remains in the custody of the Maryland Division of Correction. State Police investigators will be consulting with the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office regarding criminal charges.

Division of Correction officials contacted the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit early this morning after the inmate was found. Homicide investigators and State Police crime scene technicians responded to the Jessup Correctional Institution, Jessup Md., to conduct the investigation and process the scene for evidence.

The preliminary investigation indicates that at about 2:00 a.m. today, a correctional officer was making routine rounds in “A” building. The officer was on a tier used as a transitional area to temporarily house inmates often from other institutions prior to their appearances in court. When he reached the cell occupied by the suspect and victim, the suspect made statements to the officer that prompted him to initiate an emergency response by staff and enter the cell. The victim was found unresponsive in the cell and EMS personnel were summoned. Medics determined the victim was deceased at the scene.

Investigators found signs that the victim had sustained trauma to his body. What appeared to be a shoe string was found around the victim’s neck. The victim’s body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.

The investigation is continuing.