GOULD, Ark. – Officials with the Arkansas State Police are investigating a homicide at the Arkansas Department of Corrections Cummins Unit on Thursday.

According to a release, staff at the unit discovered 21-year-old inmate Joseph Fairchild non-responsive during a security check at 2 a.m.

Fairchild was pronounced dead at the scene and officials said he was serving a sentence for first-degree battery out of Pulaski County.

Officials said that Fairchild’s 25-year-old cellmate has been named as a suspect in his death.

Fairchild’s body will be transported to the Arkansas State Crime Lab where the manner and cause of his death will be determined.

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