One of the men slain inside the Bent County Correctional Facility two months ago lost an eye in the attack and suffered 25 small puncture wounds to his face, according to an autopsy report released to The Denver Post on Thursday.
Charles Gates, 27, was suffocated to death inside the prison in June, according to his autopsy, released in response to an open records request. He was killed in the same attack that left Michael Fisher, 59, dead and seriously wounded a third prisoner who has not been publicly identified by the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Investigators believe two suspects were involved in the killings, though neither has been named and no charges have been filed. Prison officials have said very little about the killings, which remain under investigation by the Department of Corrections’ Office of the Inspector General.
The three men were found to be missing during a prisoner count on the evening of June 6, prompting an extensive search of the facility and nearby areas from at least 11 p.m. until about 1:30 a.m. on June 7, when the three men were found inside the prison.
Prison staff immediately called the Bent County coroner to the scene, but did not call an ambulance for the survivor until 3:37 a.m., county dispatch records show.
Gates’ body was found in the fetal position inside a lidded gray plastic crate that had cracked in the corner where his feet were located, according to the autopsy report. The crate also contained “shoes, papers and other miscellaneous blood-soaked items,” according to the report.
The man’s right eye had been removed and the autopsy report does not indicate whether it was found.
Gates suffered 25 small, superficial puncture wounds to his face that were “somewhat” star-shaped, according to the autopsy report. The puncture wounds were each about 3 millimeters in diameter — about the width of the stick on a Q-tip. The wounds were concentrated around the man’s left ear and temple, with 22 wounds in that area, though he also had similar punctures around his missing right eye, according to the autopsy report.
The punctures went no deeper than the man’s dermis — the second layer of skin, according to the autopsy report.
Gates also suffered injuries to his neck, head, chest and upper extremities, according to the report. He had methamphetamine and synthetic cannabinoids in his blood, according to the report. There was a wedge of orange in between his teeth.
Fisher’s autopsy report was still pending Thursday and will be released when it is finalized, Bent County Coroner Jason Nichols said.
Prison investigators have refused to give a timeline for how the attack unfolded, say where in the prison the men were killed or why it took hours to find their bodies.
The Department of Corrections denied records requests filed by The Post that sought more information about Fisher and Gates on the grounds that providing the prisoners’ files would “would harm the public interest and interfere with an active, ongoing law enforcement purpose,” according to a July 27 denial letter.
In a statement Friday, the Department of Corrections said it could not comment on the autopsy findings because the deaths were still under investigation by the inspector general in coordination with the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
“The loss of life within Bent County Correctional Facility, a contract facility responsible for individuals in state custody, is a matter of profound gravity, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones impacted by this tragedy,” Alondra Gonzalez, the agency’s communications director, said in the statement.
The Department of Corrections said the inspector general’s office did not receive Gates’ final autopsy report until Friday, following publication of this story. The agency said it “remains committed to a thorough investigative process and appropriate accountability based on its findings.”
Fisher was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in connection with a 1996 homicide. Gates was serving time in connection with several different cases; his longest sentence was a nine-year term for a 2023 motor vehicle theft in Douglas County.
Updated 4:50 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, 2026: This story was updated after publication to add information from a statement provided by the Colorado Department of Corrections.
