An inmate was fatally stabbed by another at a Shelby County, Tennessee courthouse Thursday morning while both awaited their hearings, police said.
Deion Byrd, 25, was killed during a violent confrontation with fellow inmate Donnie Clay, 21, in a holding space at the Shelby County Criminal Court.
Byrd allegedly spat on Clay’s face after he accused him of breaking into his house, something Clay denied.
“Clay said ‘I’m gonna kill you now’ and pulled a sharpened piece of metal from his waistband and chased Byrd into a nearby interview room a few feet away,” authorities said.
Byrd was stabbed in the neck. He died at a nearby hospital.
“His life didn’t deserve to be taken like that,” the slain inmate’s mother said.
“He’s gone and you are supposed to be in the safest place. You at 201 Poplar. All the metal detectors, all the sheriff’s deputies.”
