By Jennifer Palmer
The Oklahoman
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Corrections Department has released findings on the deaths of two inmates — a violent felon who was bludgeoned to death with a food tray and a burglar found strangled to death in his bunk.
The reports were released last week.
Bryan K. Blackburn, 30, died April 12 at the Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville. A correctional officer discovered him on the floor, his cellmate standing over him and holding a red plastic food tray, the walls splattered with blood. Blackburn’s cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma. The cellmate was reportedly under the influence of bath salts, an intoxicating synthetic chemical.
Shawn B. Moore, 36, died March 28 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. The state medical examiner determined he died of asphyxia due to strangulation. He was serving time for numerous crimes, including burglary, attempted burglary and grand larceny.
In both instances, the reports indicate the victim’s cellmate was the assailant. The Corrections Department withheld the suspects’ names because charges have not yet been filed.
Blackburn was serving a 42-year sentence for assault with a dangerous weapon, robbery, concealing stolen property and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, as well as a 20-year sentence for possession of a firearm, from 2006 convictions in Oklahoma County. Additionally, he was convicted of aggravated assault and battery on a corrections employee while incarcerated, which added a one-year sentence onto the end of his term.
Blackburn’s mother, Amy Blackburn, said her son made some bad choices in life but didn’t deserve to die.
“He was a good person with a good heart. He was looking forward to coming up for parole and getting out to see his nieces and nephews and his family,” she said.
Blackburn, of Bethany, attempted to sue the Corrections Department in 2014, claiming in court records that corrections staff didn’t intervene as he bashed his own head on a cement wall while on suicide watch.
“I covered camera and cell door window and I violently beat my head on the cinder block wall, concrete floor, and no one took protocol to stop me nor secure me, or put me in a safe environment,” he wrote.
The judge dismissed the complaint in January after Blackburn failed to comply with a court order.
When a correctional officer discovered Blackburn on the floor of his cell April 11, he was still breathing, according to the report. He was taken by ambulance to Holdenville General Hospital. Rescue workers tried to transport him to the OU Medical Center, but diverted to Seminole Medical Center, where he died just after midnight.
Department investigators found three small baggies of bath salts in Blackburn’s cellmate’s shoe, the report states. He refused to submit to a drug test, but appeared to be under the influence, an investigator noted.
At least two other in-custody slayings were reported late last year at the Holdenville prison, which is privately owned by Corrections Corp. of America. Eric Grimm was found dead Dec. 2, and Tory Czernecki was killed Oct. 26. Both were strangled.