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Two Utah State Prison inmates have been charged with murder in the death last month of a fellow prisoner who allegedly belonged to a rival gang.
Jeffrey Ray Vigil, 24, was assaulted March 14 in a common area of the Draper prison's Oquirrh I housing unit, according to charging documents filed in 3rd District Court.
Vigil died at a hospital the next day. He had been incarcerated since June 2015 on a parole violation.
Ramon Luis Rivera, 30, is charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and two counts of possession of items prohibited in a correctional facility, which are second-degree felonies.
Albert Collin Fernandez, 38, is charged with murder, a first-degree felony, and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.
The charges, filed Wednesday, say prison surveillance video shows Rivera confronting Vigil and then Fernandez punching the victim and kicking him multiple times in the head.
After Vigil fell to the ground, Rivera allegedly stabbed him several times.
"For a period of time, it appears Fernandez is also attempting to block Mr. Vigil's escape from Rivera, during which time Mr. Vigil is being stabbed by Rivera," charging documents say.
Rivera placed Vigil in a chokehold until he became unconscious, then stomped on and kicked his head more than 70 times, according to the charging documents.
An autopsy concluded that the cause of Vigil's death was blunt force trauma and sharp force trauma.
Rivera allegedly told Unified Police Department investigators that the assault started over "gang s—-." The inmate allegedly said he had two knives; after the first knife broke, he started stabbing Vigil with the second one.
Investigators reported smelling a strong odor of bleach in Fernandez's cell after the incident and noticed the inmate had removed his shirt and shoes, which were bright white and smelled of bleach.
According to court documents, Rivera was convicted in 2nd District Court of attempted aggravated murder stemming from an August 2009 shooting in Clearfield.
Fernandez's criminal record shows convictions for kidnapping, robbery, attempted theft and attempted possession of a dangerous weapon, among other offenses.
Vigil had a criminal history that included convictions for theft, possession of a forgery device, failure to stop at the command of police and drug possession.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC