CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A former middle school gym teacher convicted of statutory rape of a minor was killed in prison on Sunday.

Ernest Nichols, 60, was found unresponsive in his prison cell just before 7 a.m. on Sunday at the Greene Correctional Institution. He was pronounced dead 30 minutes later after life-saving measures were attempted.

Wilbert Baldwin, 41, is accused of killing Nichols.

Nichols was serving an 18-year prison sentence for a statutory rape conviction in Mecklenburg County. He pleaded guilty to statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl in 2011. Nichols was formerly a gym teacher at Ranson Middle School .

Authorities arrested Nichols in October 2009 for the charges. He remained in jail through his trial and was credited with time served after he was given an 18-22-year sentence

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