2 Inmates Charged With Murder of 4 Inmates at SC Prison

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)-  Two convicts who were already serving life sentences for killing a mother and her child have been charged with murder in the strangulation deaths of four inmates inside a South Carolina prison.

Arrest warrants released early Saturday say 35-year-old Denver Simmons and 25-year-old Jacob Philip lured each inmate into a cell at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia on Friday morning.

The warrants say the men worked together to choke all four inmates. Two of the victims were also beaten and stabbed with a broken broomstick.
The warrants gave no reason for the attack or how long the killings took. Prison officials are investigating the attack and have not commented. The warrants say there is video.

Autopsies on four inmates found dead inside a cell in a South Carolina prison found they were all strangled and were killed within 30 minutes of each other. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said in a statement the inmates died between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Officials released the identities of the four inmates found dead Friday morning in a housing unit at Kirkland Correctional Institution.

Corrections officials have identified the inmates as John King, Jason Kelley, Jimmy Ham, and William Scruggs.

According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, the bodies were found around 10:35 a.m. on Friday at the prison located at 4344 Broad River Road in Columbia.

In statement, South Carolina Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said: “I have asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to lead this investigation. SLED will be the lead investigators along with the Richland County Coroner’s Office and will be assisted by the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) Police Services Division.”