ORANGE, Calif.-
A man awaiting trial on child pornography charges was fatally beaten by fellow jail inmates, a sheriff’s spokesman said Friday.
John Derek Chamberlain, 41, was pronounced dead at a hospital late Thursday after deputies found him lying near his bunk bed, said Jim Amormino, sheriff’s spokesman. It was the first homicide in an Orange County jail in 20 years, he said.
Chamberlain was arrested Sept. 14 on suspicion of possessing child pornography for sale after deputies responding to a disturbance call said they found the materials in his car. He had been scheduled for trial Oct. 24.
Detectives believe Chamberlain was attacked in the shower, then dragged to near his bunk bed, Amormino said. He had injuries to his head, face and chest. He had not been in protective custody.
Chamberlain was being held in an area reserved for those accused of “low-level type crimes,” Amormino said.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
