News

Actions

3 inmates charged in beating death at West Virginia jail

Posted

BEAVER, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia authorities say they have charged three Southern Region Jail inmates with murder in the beating death of a fourth inmate.

Senior State Trooper E.W. Boothe told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that Kevin Whittaker of Princeton was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday night and he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Boothe said he was "beaten pretty severely" and an investigation led to the arrest on Monday of 21-year-old Dallas Allen Lauschin of Princeton, 33-year-old Thomas Antwan Jones of Princeton, and 41-year-old Anthony Lee Johnson of Oceana.

Boothe said all of the men had been incarcerated on misdemeanor charges and there's no indication they knew each other outside jail.

———

Information from: Bluefield Daily Telegraph, http://www.bdtonline.com