The Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) is investigating after an inmate died at the Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers on Sunday, the DOC said.
A correctional officer was conducting a regular tour and saw an inmate unresponsive in his cell at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Staff immediately began treating the man, 45-year-old Craig Whyte of New Haven, according to the DOC.
Emergency staff arrived and continued treating Whyte as they took him to a local hospital. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:31 p.m., the DOC said.
The Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers is currently on lockdown, according to the DOC.
State police responded at 4 p.m. and began their investigation. The DOC Security Division is also investigating.
NBC Connecticut spoke with Jenna Curren, an associate teaching professor of criminal justice at Quinnipiac University. She’s also worked for the DOC in various positions, including as a corrections officer and a training officer, for a decade.
“The public’s going to want answers,” Curren said. “And his family’s going to want answers.”
Curren went on to explain what may take place in the investigation.
“It’s really trying to piece together what [Whyte’s] life looked like the past 24-48 hours and to figure out exactly what happened, and why it happened,” Curren said. “That includes talking to medical workers, social workers, counselors […] anybody that’s been in and out of that unit.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the exact cause of death.
Whyte was serving a 33-month sentence for threatening, the DOC said.
