Nevada inmate stabbed to death at maximum security prison
An inmate was stabbed to death at a maximum security Nevada prison this week, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.
Michael Rumble, 29, died at Ely State Prison on Tuesday morning from multiple stab wounds, according to the coroner’s office. His death was ruled a homicide.
The Nevada Department of Corrections had not publicized details on Rumble’s death as of Friday, and officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Ely State Prison is a maximum security facility in White Pine County, about 250 miles north of Las Vegas.
Sheriff Scott Henriod said Thursday the White Pine County sheriff’s office is investigating the killing.
“I can tell you it’s being investigated as a homicide,” he said. “We have two persons of interest involved, but won’t be naming them at this time.”
Rumble had served time in prison for burglary and carrying a concealed weapon after being sentenced in Clark and Washoe counties, according to prison records.
4 killers die
Since April, four men convicted of killing their female partners have died while serving prison sentences across the state.
The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office said Vitaly Zakouto, 74, died on April 25 at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center from colon cancer.
The Department of Corrections wrote in a news release that Zakouto died April 15.
He was serving life without parole after he was convicted of stalking, stabbing and shooting his ex-wife in 2000, according to Clark County District Court records.
Less than a month later, Joseph Smith, 82, died at Northern Nevada Correctional Center from cardiovascular disease.
The Department of Corrections said the death row inmate died at Renown Regional Medical Center.
Smith was convicted of killing his wife and her two daughters in 1990. According to Review-Journal archives, his trial involved dramatic court hearings involving family members collapsing in hallways and newspaper articles thrown at jurors.
The Clark County coroner’s office said Justin Burns, 39, died by suicide at High Desert State Prison on June 8.
Court records show he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2010 strangling of Michele Carson.
Review-Journal archives showed Burns, a former Bishop Gorman basketball player, was Carson’s ex-boyfriend.
Ten days after Burns died, fellow High Desert inmate Michael Garcia, 61, died at Centennial Hills Hospital.
The Clark County coroner’s office had not ruled on his cause and manner of death as of Thursday.
Court records show Garcia pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2016 stabbing of his girlfriend, Linda Wise.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
