Jail staff not aware of any threat before suspect killed cell mate, Muscogee County sheriff says

A 19-year-old faces a murder charge after fatally beating his cell mate in the Muscogee County Jail Saturday, authorities said.

Muscogee County Sheriff Donna Tompkins called a press conference in her office Tuesday to provide more details in the case.

Jayvon Hatchett, a Black man, was being held in the Muscogee County Jail on charges related to a stabbing at a Columbus AutoZone on August 25. He was arrested the next day and charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon.

Hatchett told police that he was looking for a white man to kill, according to WTVM.

Hatchett was housed in a cell with 39-year-old Eddie Nelson Jr., Tompkins said. Nelson is a white man and the two were cell mates from Aug. 28 to Sept. 5.

“Both inmate Nelson and inmate Hatchett had seen our mental health provider,” Tompkins said. “Had there been any threats to anyone, that either our officers, our security staff, our medical staff, or our mental health staff had advised us of, we would have taken action upon any threat.”

At 1:30 a.m. Saturday, a deputy was alerted to a fight in one of the dorms, according to Tompkins. When the deputy entered the dorm, they saw Hatchett on top of Nelson and immediately called for medical assistance.

More deputies arrived to help break up the two men. Hatchett complied with their orders and was taken into custody without incident, Tompkins said.

“Inmate Hatchett was advised of his Miranda rights and confessed to killing inmate Nelson,” Tompkins said.

Hatchett will appear in Recorder’s Court at 9 a.m. Wednesday to face the new murder charge.