Prisoner said he realized cellmate raped his sister, so he killed him, WA officials say
A Washington man has been sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison after killing his cellmate, who he said raped his younger sister, according to officials and media reports.
The inmate, 26, told KHQ in an interview last year that he had been transferred to different correctional centers due to fights with officers but was transferred “out of the blue” to Airway Heights Correctional Center in Spokane County.
His cellmate was Robert Munger, 70, who was convicted of child molestation and sentenced to 43 years in prison, according to the station. The inmate said he realized that Munger was the man who raped his younger sister and requested to move cells at least twice but nobody listened.
“He kept ... giving me details about what happened and what he did. About the photos and videos of him doing this stuff, and it was building up,” the inmate said, according to KHQ.
In June 2020, he snuck up behind Munger in a common room at the corrections center, struck him on the head and “punched Munger in the head approximately 14 times before stomping and kicking Munger’s head repeatedly” while he lay unconscious on the ground, according to a Washington State Patrol investigation. Munger was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center for treatment and died on June 5, 2020, officials said.
The prisoner pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison, The Washington Post reported.
“I’m ashamed of my actions, I was put into a situation that I don’t wish on nobody,” he said in a statement read by his lawyer at a hearing, according to the publication. “I got a lot of fixing to do.”
The inmate was wanted in a stabbing in 2017 and led police on a chase before being taken into custody, KATU reported.
Inmates are “assessed for separation and facility prohibition concerns to ensure safety and facility security,” according to a Washington Department of Corrections policy. Inmates who could be “aggressors, victims of aggressors or a threat to the orderly operation of the facility” should be separated, the policy states.
Male sex offenders comprised nearly 30% of homicide victims in prison since 2007 despite only making up around 15% of the population in prisons, according to the Associated Press.
A Washington State Patrol investigation found that “there is no evidence suggesting screening staff should have known about the conflict between (the inmate) .... and Munger,” according to The Washington Post.
McClatchy News is not naming the suspect in order to protect the victim’s identity.
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This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 10:39 AM.