Inmate Fatally Stabbed at Downtown County Jail

A 27-year-old inmate found dead in his cell at Men’s Central Jail near Downtown had been stabbed, an official said Wednesday.

A deputy who was helping nursing personnel distribute medicine found the man “in his cell covered with a blanket as if he were asleep,” about 7:30 last night, Deputy Benita Hinojos said. “When the deputy removed the blanket, it was discovered that the victim had been stabbed numerous times in the upper torso,” Hinojos said, adding that deputies found a jail-made knife, believed to be the murder weapon, in the cell.

Hinojos said the inmate, whose name was not immediately available, had been serving a state prison sentence and was housed at the county jail while awaiting a court appearance in Los Angeles.