Prisoner charged in cellmate's death
MERCER — An inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Mercer admitted he used a torn bed sheet to fatally choke his cellmate Monday night, authorities said.
Darl J. Heverly Jr., 35, claimed he believed the victim was part of a prison gang plotting to hurt or kill him, according to state police.
State police Tuesday charged Heverly in the strangling death of 35-year-old Jason Albert Kelly.
District Judge Daniel Davis arraigned Heverly on charges of homicide, aggravated assault, assault by a prisoner, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He was returned to SCI-Mercer to await his preliminary hearing Dec. 16.
A correctional officer making his rounds in the prison's restricted housing unit peeked into the cell shared by the defendant and victim around 8:50 p.m. and saw Kelly lying on the floor “gagged and unconscious.”
Officers removed Heverly from the cell. He told them that he had strangled the victim, police said. The officers reportedly had last seen Kelly alive around 7:45 p.m.
Prison staff performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the victim, Trooper Joseph Morris, the lead investigator, said Tuesday. The staff called for a medical emergency and police were also notified.
Kelly was taken to the infirmary, where prison nurses continued CPR. An automated external defibrillator machine was also utilized, Morris said, before Kelly was taken to Grove City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
But police noted the victim showed no signs of life before an ambulance took him to the hospital.Investigators interviewed the defendant at the prison. He again allegedly admitted to strangling Kelly “using strips of torn bed sheets.”He told police that the victim “had been threatening him repeatedly throughout the day,” according to charging documents.Heverly said he believed Kelly was a gang member at the prison and he feared the gang was planning to “harm or kill him regarding a disagreement.” He said he decided to act first.The defendant said that he tied pieces of the sheet around his cell mate's neck and mouth. After Kelly fell unconscious, police said, Heverly recounted that he tied the victim's hands behind his back.“Heverly admitted to covering Kelly with a sheet after he stopped moving and breathing,” documents said.Heverly is serving a 29-to-58-year state prison sentence for a 2006 kidnapping, robbery and burglary in Union County in central Pennsylvania, according to court records.Additionally, his criminal record showed burglary convictions in Northumberland County.Authorities said they believe Kelly was serving a five-year sentence stemming from a robbery in Allegheny County.SCI-Mercer is a minimum security prison housing about 1,500 adult male offenders from all over the commonwealth.
