HOUTZDALE – An inmate is accused of strangling his cellmate to death in late August at the State Correctional Institution at Houtzdale.
Jacob Michael Mitchell, 33, of SCI Houtzdale, is charged by Clearfield-based state police with felony criminal homicide, aggravated assault and assault by prisoner and related misdemeanor charges.
State police say Mitchell killed his cellmate, Garrick Bloom, 48, on Aug. 29; according to the affidavit of probable cause, Bloom was found unresponsive in his cell at approximately 11:04 p.m.
Bloom reportedly had bruises all over his face, and markings around his neck from having been strangled with some sort of string. There was also dried blood all over his face.
Efforts were made to revive him, but he was declared dead at the prison infirmary at approximately 11:43 p.m.
In the cell, state police observed blood on the floor, door and several sheets. There was also blood on a pillow case and mattress that had been moved to the top bunk by emergency responders prior to state police arrival on-scene.
In an interview with troopers, Mitchell said he was passed out in his bunk from having consumed alcohol all day, and he was allegedly awoken by Bloom touching him inappropriately.
He said he jumped out of bed and started assaulting Bloom. When he had Bloom on the ground, Bloom bit him on the finger and this made him go into a fit of “rage.”
Mitchell said he hit the cell button for the guards during the assault and again once it was over. He reportedly told the guards: “I think he’s dead.”
When asked if he’d placed anything around Bloom’s neck or at what point, he strangled him, Mitchell replied: “I don’t know; I just snapped.”
On Sept. 10, state police received information from prison officials that Mitchell had allegedly admitted to having tied a string around Bloom’s neck in an attempt to hang him, and have his death appear as a suicide.
The autopsy indicated the cause of Bloom’s death was ligature strangulation and the manner of death was homicide.
Prison officials stated that Bloom was serving a 40- to 80-year sentence that began in October of 2019 after he was convicted of raping a child in Clarion County. He has been at SCI Houtzdale since Dec. 5.
Bloom was originally charged with over 800 counts of various offenses including statutory sexual assault, rape forcible compulsion, and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse from incidents in 2007, according to online court documents.
He pleaded guilty to five counts of rape of a child for which he received consecutive sentences.