Carroll County Inmate Killed At Jessup Prison: Police

JESSUP, MD – Maryland State Police are investigating the apparent murder of a state prison inmate from Carroll County who was found dead in his cell early Friday in Anne Arundel County. David Isacc Stephenson, 44, of Union Bridge, who was incarcerated at the Jessup Correctional Institution, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel.

Another inmate at the prison has been identified as a suspect, but his name is being withheld until charges are filed, according to a news release. A motive for the killing remains unclear at this time. Investigators are working to determine how and why Stephenson was killed.

According to online Maryland court records, Stephenson had been imprisoned in 2010 for a 20-year sentence on multiple counts of sexual abuse of a child.

He had volunteered as an American Sign Language interpreter on the Deaf Studies Advisory Board of Frederick Community College and with the Frederick County Commission on Disabilities, according to the Frederick News-Post. Stephenson admitted he had abused two boys, one for a period of several months, and the other for about four years. The victims were age 12 and 16 in December 2010 when Stephenson was sent to prison.

Established by Stephenson in 1996, WIN supported the deaf community by sponsoring the Deaf Olympics and youth athletic leagues, the website states.

Shortly after 3 a.m. on Nov. 2, a correctional officer was making cell checks and saw the window to a cell was covered up. Additional officers were summoned and they entered the cell, where they found Stephenson lying on the floor. He was unresponsive and had sustained obvious trauma, officials said.

Emergency medical personnel were immediately summoned, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. His cellmate, who was also in the cell, was examined, but did not require medical treatment.

Stephenson’s body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause and manner of death.

The Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office will coordinate the pending charges in the case.

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