Sullivan County Man Fatally Stabbed At Marion County Jail

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A Marion County Jail inmate was found fatally stabbed early Saturday, apparently by another inmate, the jail reported.

James Smith, 51, of Sullivan County, was found unresponsive around 12:50 a.m. and was declared dead a short time later, the jail said.

Smith had been transferred to multiple housing locations for using racially charged language towards fellow inmates. At the time of his death, he had been assigned to a single cell, the jail said.

Smith had been in custody since Aug. 22. Sullivan County records reflect that upon his recent release from the Indiana Department of Correction, he had threatened to kill his mother. He was being held for the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office on two charges of intimidation.

The matter is under investigation by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Marion County Coroner’s Office, and the Marion County Forensic Services Agency.