Man dies at Tyger River Correctional Institution in suspected suicide
An inmate at Tyger River Correctional Institution in Enoree died Thursday morning, according to the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office.
Peter Fred Hernandez, 60, was pronounced dead on the scene May 11 at 6:33 a.m., according to an email from Jonathan Lawson, Chief Investigator with the coroner's office.
A South Carolina Department of Corrections press release stated that Hernandez's death is a suspected suicide.
The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating, along with the coroner's office and the SCDC Inspector General's office.
Lawson said in the email that a forensic autopsy and toxicology analysis will be performed Friday, May 12.
Related: Spartanburg jail failed to provide adequate care for man who died in custody, lawsuit says
Peter Fred Hernandez, an inmate at Tyger River CI, died at the institution this morning. Hernandez, 60, was found dead in his cell. He did not have a cellmate. The death is being investigated as a suspected suicide. An autopsy will be performed. Details: https://t.co/pzs75lk3PN
— SC Dept. Corrections (@SCDCNews) May 11, 2023
According to court records, Hernandez was serving a life sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping in South Carolina stemming from an incident in December 1990.
However, he received an additional life sentence and 25 years for other charges in North Carolina related to the same incident, according to previous reporting by the Herald-Journal. Hernandez pled guilty to first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping, armed robbery and three counts of first-degree sex offenses for the abduction, robbery and assault of a 19-year-old Spartanburg woman who was five months pregnant when the crimes occurred.
Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger confirmed that Hernandez's death was the first at the Enoree prison in 2023.
Two men, James DePriest, 64, and Jahmand Maurice McNeill, 30, died at the facility last year, according to the coroner's office. DePriest's death was ruled natural and McNeill's was ruled a suicide.
The Herald-Journal previously reported on findings from Incarceration Transparency, that tallied 18 deaths at the prison between 2015 and 2021.
Chalmers Rogland covers public safety and breaking news for the Herald-Journal. Reach him via email at crogland@shj.com
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Man dies at Tyger River Correctional Institution in suspected suicide
