CHESTERFIELD, NJ — A 22-year-old inmate at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility was charged on Friday in the death of his former cellmate, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said.
Xavier Cepin, of Newark, was charged with one count of first-degree murder.
On April 18, a corrections officer found his cellmate, Shayne Johns, 28, of Mount Ephraim, lying on the floor during an inmate count.
He was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton and died later that day.
An autopsy performed by the Burlington County Medical Examiner's Office revealed severe internal trauma to Johns' neck and throat area.
The death was also ruled a homicide.
Cepin's first appearance in Mount Holly Superior Court is yet to be scheduled. The case will then be readied for a grand jury to review for a possible indictment.
The Garden State Youth Correctional Facility holds around 1,000 inmates. More than half of these offenders are serving time for violent crimes, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
Around 80 percent of the inmates are less than 28 years old.
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