BELLEFONTE, Pa. – A man convicted of strangling his newborn son he’d had with an underage girl in 2017 was found dead in his prison cell. Prison officials said he hanged himself.
Christopher Kennedy, 42, was found unresponsive in his cell at the State Correctional Institution – Rockview at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania last Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections said in a press release.
Pennsylvania DOC provided the following overview:
Superintendent Salamon, of the State Correctional Institution at Rockview reported today that inmate Christopher Kennedy, 42, was found unresponsive in his cell on January 28, 2022.
Prison staff immediately responded and provided life-saving measures until facility medical personnel arrived. EMS arrived and advanced life support measures were continued as he was transferred to Mount Nittany Medical Center, where he passed away at 5:10 p.m.
Kennedy was serving an 18- to 36-year sentence for Murder out of Lawrence County. He had been at SCI Rockview since December 22, 2021.
In accordance with state policy, Pennsylvania State Police were notified and will conduct an investigation. The official cause of death will be determined by the Centre County Coroner’s Office.
The deceased’s next-of-kin has been notified.
The Centre County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday ruled Kennedy’s death a suicide by hanging, Fox News has confirmed.
SCI Rockview in Pennsylvania. (Google Maps)
Kennedy was sentenced last September for murdering a newborn baby he had had with an underage girl, according to court records obtained by Fox. According to police, he buried the baby’s corpse in cement inside a safe.
The relationship became known to law enforcement authorities when the teen was hospitalized due to complications from giving birth.
Kennedy pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit third-degree murder and pleaded guilty to one felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, Fox reported, citing court records.
