A Kansas man serving a 50-year prison sentence for first-degree murder is found dead in his cell at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.

 

Authorities at the correctional facility say 39-year-old Andrew Ellmaker was found unresponsive in his cell on Tuesday. Life-saving measures were taken but staff and EMS were unable to revive Ellmaker and he was pronounced deceased. The cause of death will be determined by an independent autopsy.

 

Ellmaker was serving a 50-year-sentence for the 2004 murder of Teri Zenner, a social worker with the Johnson County Mental Health Center in Olathe. Ellmaker was a 17-year-old client of the victim when he attacked her while she was conducting a home visit. He also injured his mother in the attack.

 

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has been called in to investigate the case, a move that is standard procedure when an inmate dies while in custody.