Kansas prisoner death ruled a homicide

LANSING, Kan. – The death of an inmate at the Lansing Correctional Facility has been ruled a homicide.

On Saturday, Nov. 25, at around 10:45 p.m., the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) was notified by personnel at the Lansing Correctional facility that 29-year-old Darionce Terrell Charles-Lott had died after being found unresponsive in his cell.

Despite life-saving measures that were attempted at the facility’s clinic, Charles-Lott was pronounced deceased.

Charles-Lott had been serving a 172-month sentence for a conviction in Wyandotte County for one count of aggravated battery with intent for bodily harm. He was admitted to Lansing on Nov. 1, 2011.

KBI agents responded to the facility to investigate, as is required by state statute. Investigators with the Kansas Department of Corrections assisted in the investigation. An autopsy was conducted. While the final autopsy report is pending, preliminary autopsy results indicated Charles-Lott’s manner of death was homicide, and cause of death was strangulation.

A male suspect who is incarcerated at the facility has been identified. At this time, the suspect has not yet been arrested or charged for this crime.

The investigation is ongoing. Once it is completed, findings will be presented to the Leavenworth County Attorney’s Office for determination of charges.