A Cook County Jail inmate is facing murder charges in connection to the July death of another inmate.
Tony Purnell | photo from Cook County Sheriff’s Office
Cook County sheriff’s officers identified 23-year-old Jason Robles as the inmate who got into a fight with Tony Purnell, 42, on June 23 at the jail, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said.
Purnell died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County at 12:47 a.m. on July 23, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
An autopsy found Purnell died of complications from craniocerebral injuries caused by an assault, and his death was ruled a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.
Robles is facing a murder charge, Ansari confirmed Friday in an email. He was sentenced to two years in prison in July for aggravated battery to a government employee, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections website.
Purnell had been in the jail since January, according to the sheriff’s office. He was booked in January on a disorderly conduct charge, which was
dropped in June. He was charged with civil contempt in February.
“This was a tragic case and the first such case in the jail in more than six years,” Ansari said.
Robles’ court information was not immediately known.
