The man charged in a murderous April crime spree has now been accused of strangling his cellmate at the DeKalb County jail.
Jah’Corey D. Tyson, a 23-year-old arrested in May on family violence and rape charges, died Saturday “after sustaining injuries during an altercation with his cellmate” at the DeKalb County jail, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Cynthia Williams said. That cellmate, authorities said, was Donte Lamar Wyatt — a man already incarcerated for allegedly stabbing one woman and killing another.
Police believe that, on the morning of April 13, Wyatt met his estranged wife at a Waffle House in Stockbridge and stabbed her multiple times before fleeing in a rented pickup truck. From there, the 33-year-old McDonough man drove to DeKalb County, where he allegedly killed Catherine Han Montoya — an LGBT activist and member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights — inside her Shadowridge Drive home.
According to authorities, Wyatt then stole a car and drove to another house on Glynn Drive, where he holed up in the basement and refused to surrender until a SWAT team used tear gas.
Specifics about Wyatt’s alleged actions inside the DeKalb County jail on Saturday were hard to come by Wednesday, but DeKalb police spokesman Capt. S.R. Fore said Tyson’s cause of death was manual asphyxiation. A police incident report said the tussle between the inmates occurred between about 5:20 and 6 a.m.
Tyson died from his injuries after being taken to DeKalb Medical Center.
Williams, the DeKalb sheriff’s office spokeswoman, said details about the incident were being withheld pending the police department’s investigation.
Jail records showed a new murder charge was added to Wyatt’s docket on Saturday. He was previously charged with murder, burglary and theft by taking in DeKalb County, as well as aggravated assault and theft by taking in Henry County.
DeKalb County Sheriff Jeff Mann said in a statement Saturday’s incident was his jail’s first inmate homicide “in more than five years.”
“However,” he added, “this does not lessen the tragedy of the situation, and we extend our sincerest condolences to Mr. Tyson’s family as we look into what may have caused his death.”
About the Author
