Special Agents with the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division are investigating a homicide at the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) Cummins Unit in Gould.
According to officials, ADC staff discovered inmate Joseph Fairchild, 21, unresponsive during a routine security check at approximately 2 a.m. on Thursday, September 11. Fairchild was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fairchild had been serving a sentence for First-Degree Battery out of Pulaski County.
Authorities have identified his 25-year-old cellmate as a suspect in Fairchild’s death. The inmate’s name has not yet been released as the investigation continues.
Fairchild’s body will be transported to the Arkansas State Crime Lab, where the manner and cause of death will be determined.
Arkansas State Police Special Agents and prison officials are continuing to investigate the incident, and more information is expected as the case develops.
