Inmate Murder Investigated

(Cumberland, MD) – Maryland State Police are continuing their investigation into the murder of an inmate that occurred last week at a Division of Correction prison in Western Maryland.

The victim is identified as Jeffrey S. Kay, 48, who was an inmate at the Western Correctional Institution in Cumberland. An autopsy at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore found the manner of Kay’s death was homicide. A cause of death is not being released by State Police at this time.

Investigators from the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit were called to the prison on November 25th, after correctional officers found Kay unresponsive while lying in his bed in his cell about 11:00 a.m. Correctional officers began emergency care procedures and summoned an ambulance that transported Kay to the Western Maryland Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Maryland State Police crime scene technicians responded to the prison and processed the scene for evidence. State Police homicide investigators, with the assistance of the Internal Investigative Unit of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, initiated an investigation that has included numerous interviews with inmates and correctional officers, the collection and review of evidence, and other ongoing efforts.

The Maryland Division of Correction reports Kay was serving 20 years on theft, burglary, and related charges. He had been sentenced in Montgomery County.

Further details are not able to be released at this time. The investigation is continuing.