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Inmate pleads guilty to strangling another
Associated Press
LAKE CITY -- A convicted sex offender serving a life prison term has pleaded guilty to the strangling death of another inmate at the Columbia County Courthouse.
John Blackwelder, an inmate at Columbia Correctional Institution, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the May 6 death of Raymond Wigley.
The state will seek the death penalty at a sentencing trial set to begin June 12, court documents show. Jury selection begins June 11.
Wigley, 39, was found dead in his cell May 6. He was bleeding from his head and had a sheet tied around his neck.
He had been strangled, the Medical Examiner's Office determined.
A grand jury indicted Blackwelder for the murder in June. He pleaded guilty on Thursday.
Blackwelder, 46, and Wigley were not cellmates, but were in "close custody," the equivalent of maximum security, where inmates are not locked in their cells 24 hours a day. Wigley was also serving a life sentence.
Blackwelder was previously convicted of committing sexual battery on a person under age 12 in St. Lucie County, and of attempted sexual battery and five counts of lewd assault/sexual battery on minors.
He has been awaiting trial in the Florida State Penitentiary in Starke.
For Immediate Release
May 8, 2000 For More Information
Contact: C.J. Drake
(850) 488-0420
TALLAHASSEE - Inmate Raymond Wigley (DC# 094065) died Saturday, May 6 at Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City. A fellow inmate is the suspect in his death.
Wigley was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in Broward County. Inmate John Blackwelder (DC# 069574) is under investigation for Wigley's death. Blackwelder is serving a life sentence for sexual battery in St. Lucie County. Wigley and Blackwelder were not cellmates.
Blackwelder told correctional officers he killed Wigley. The officers then went to Wigley's cell, where they discovered him at approximately 1:40 pm face down on his bunk. A sheet was tied around his neck and he was bleeding from the head. An autopsy will be conducted.
The Department of Corrections inspector general's office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney's Office are investigating the homicide. Any charges against Blackwelder, who was put in confinement at Columbia CI after the incident, will be determined by the State Attorney's Office.
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