A Gary man serving a 65-year sentence for killing the grandmother and aunt of a police officer was fatally stabbed Wednesday at the Indiana State Prison, officials confirm.
Willie Steele, 49, who was sentenced for the 2009 strangulation deaths of 79-year-old Lillie and 52-year-old Doressa Miller, was working in a part of the facility for offenders who have violated prison rules, officials said. Steele was stabbed once in the torso before a correctional officer found him about 4:33 a.m., prison officials confirmed.
He was taken to Franciscan Health Michigan City where he was pronounced dead three hours later, prison spokeswoman Pam James said.
“A suspect offender has been identified and has been placed in a restricted housing unit within the facility,” prison officials said in a statement.
An investigation into the stabbing was ongoing, James said.
Steele pleaded guilty in October 2013 to the double murder, James said.
Steele’s earliest possible release date would have been Nov. 14, 2049.
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The Indiana State Prison is located on the west side of Michigan City.
