LAKE CITY, Fla. – An inmate mutilated and brutally killed his cell mate this week at Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City, according to authorities and news reports.
The Miami Herald reported that the inmate killed 58-year-old Larry Mark on Thursday and wrapped his body in a sheet. The newspaper reported that inmate, who was not identified by prison officials, gouged out Mark's eyes and placed them in a cup. Prison officials told the Herald that the inmate also cut off one of Mark's ears and wore it around his neck while he ate breakfast in the prison's cafeteria.
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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the killing, said Julie Jones, secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections.
“Any loss of life at the hands of an inmate is intolerable, and we are working with our partners at FDLE to investigate this death and ensure anyone responsible is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," Jones said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors said Mark, then 20 and living Dania Beach, and his brother-in-law, Clint Brown, killed cab driver William Sherman in January 1981. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that Mark was convicted in 1982. Sherman had picked up Mark and Brown at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. His body was later found in an alley in Hollywood. The cab was found abandoned on Interstate 95 near State Road 84.
Both Mark and Brown were sentenced to life in prison.