An inmate at State Correctional Institution Mercer is charged with killing his cellmate.
Donald William Stinedurf III, 28, is facing charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and simple assault in connection with the death of Joshua M. Tisak, 32.
According to the criminal complaint, Stinedurf reported Tisak was unresponsive inside their shared prison cell the morning of June 21. Despite medical attention, Tisak was pronounced dead at a hospital in Grove City.
Stinedurf, who had injuries to his hands and knuckles, told prison staff that he and Tisak had gotten into a fight the night before while intoxicated, court records say.
When interviewed by state police, Stinedurf claimed Tisak had been making alcohol in their cell, and Stinedurf had gotten mad because he was trying to go home following an upcoming parole review.
The two fought, pushing and hitting each other without weapons, Stinedurf said.
At one point, a corrections officer reportedly went to their cell because there was a towel over their window, records say. When asked to remove the towel, Stinedurf reportedly flushed the toilet to make the officer think it was for privacy.
When the fight ended, Stinedurf said, Tisak was able to talk, but his breathing was raspy, like “gargling mouthwash.” Stinedurf reportedly had to help Tisak back into his bunk three times during the night because he fell out.
Stinedurf said he thought Tisak was “just drunk,” adding that Tisak had repeated “I’m good, a hundred percent” after the fight.
When Stinedurf woke up in the morning, that’s when he allegedly noticed Tisak was blue and unresponsive.
Asked by police what he thought happened, Stinedurf said, “I think the fight went bad,” and that he hopes he’s not responsible, “but that’s the only thing that makes sense,” records say.
An autopsy showed Tisak died from blunt force trauma to the head, neck and torso. He was also found to have buprenorphine and ethanol in his blood. The coroner determined it to be a homicide, records say.
Stinedurf is set to be arraigned Sept. 15.
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