Man serving life sentence for murder kills cell mate who had been convicted of child rape

Smyrna, Delaware: The Delaware State Police announced yesterday, May 12, that they had been called in to investigate a homicide at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center on the morning of Monday, May 10.

Inside the cell, 69-year-old Philip Langell was found deceased. "Langell sustained injuries to head, face and neck area, consistent with multiple strikes from a closed fist. Langell also sustained an apparent stab wound from a distinctive edged instrument," the press release from DSP Public Information Officer Corporal Jason Hatchell reads.

"As a result of the autopsy, Langell's cause of death was attributed to the injuries sustained to head and neck from the attack, as well as asphyxiation. The stab wound was not ca contributing factor."

Langell was in serving a 20-year-sentence for raping a 4-year-old girl. He had been arrested in 2013 according to the Newark Post, for the crime which had occurred a decade earlier in Brookside.

His cell-mate, 55-year-old John Cameron has been charged with a single count of first degree murder.

In 2008 Cameron was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to the fatal stabbing of 41-year-old Kevin Young, a convenience store clerk during an attempted robbery the year before. The killing reportedly came in the midst of a two-day crime spree in which Cameron robbed a woman, stole two vehicles, and attempted to set a relatives car on fire.