MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — A man serving a lengthy sentence for aggravated assault was found dead in his cell at SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County Monday morning, prison officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
The cause of death for Martin McLoughlin, 33, remains unclear.
Prison staff immediately provided life-saving measures until facility medical personnel arrived at the cell, SCI Phoenix Superintendent Joseph Terra said in a statement, but their efforts were futile.
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McLoughlin was pronounced dead at 6:22 a.m.
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the incident. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is performing an autopsy to determine cause of death.
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McLoughlin was in the first year of an eight to 22 year sentence after stabbing and beating a fellow inmate at Bucks County Correctional Facility in 2019.
Security cameras captured the assault, which occurred in the inmate dining room during breakfast. McLoughlin approached the victim from behind and stabbed him at least five times with a shank before guards separated them, police said.
McLoughlin told investigators he’d been planning for several days to “reprimand” the man he stabbed and he chose Oct. 9 because he thought he was being transferred to state prison later that morning.
Prosecutors say McLoughlin showed no remorse for the attack, saying “If I wanted him dead, he would be.” McLoughlin laughed as evidence was read into the record.
McLoughlin was originally jailed for nonviolent crimes including burglary, criminal trespass, and fleeing police.
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