Police have identified the victim of a death at the Edmonton Remand Centre as Calgary inmate Curtis Dale Hill.
The 34-year-old died following an beating altercation on Christmas Eve.
According to Global Calgary, Hill was convicted of aggravated assault in connection with a 2011 stabbing attack on a Calgary limousine driver.
Hill had a long criminal history in Alberta, reports the Edmonton Journal, which included a 10-year prison stint for armed robbery, break and enter and assault.
Edmonton Police Staff Sgt. Bill Clark told the Calgary Sun Hill's death is linked to an altercation between Hill and another inmate, which approximately 60 inmates witnessed.
“The Remand Centre is under video surveillance, so we do have video of that incident,” he said, adding police will be review the tape and interviewing witnesses in coming days.
“It’s the nature of the business, I would suggest,” Clarke McChesney, chair of the union representing correctional peace officers, told Global Calgary.
“People who don’t necessarily like each other and are high-risk offenders or high-profile offenders sometimes make enemies over the smallest things. If you aren’t completely supervised, they wait for an opportunity and strike.”
Police were called to the prison at approximately 8:50 p.m. Dec. 24.
Clark told the Edmonton Journal it is not known how many guards were in the cell block when the altercation occurred, but guards "very quickly" realized an inmate was being beaten.
According to the Calgary Sun, Hill was ordered to undergo psychiatric assessment earlier this year to determine if he fit the criteria for dangerous offender.
He was labelled a high risk offender and had previously breached conditions of his release.
Police told the Edmonton Journal Hill was known to offend against both men and women, often violent attacks, and was aggressive and violent toward authority figures.
Hill's lawyer told Global Hill was not supposed to be in remand, but rather was court ordered to the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre.
His autopsy is scheduled for today.
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