OKLAHOMA CITY (WSVN) — Authorities say a convicted child killer who was found dead in prison was strangled by his cellmate.
According to the Associated Press, a report released by the Oklahoma medical Examiner has ruled that 59-year-old Anthony Palma died from “ligature strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head” on Jan. 11 in his cell at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.
According to Fox News, authorities said Palma was killed by his cellmate Raymond Pillado.
Both Pillado and Palma were serving life sentences.
Palma was convicted in 2017 of the murder of 8-year-old Kristen Hatfield.
Hatfield was kidnapped from her home in Midwest City after she went to bed on May 13, 1997. Palma was later found guilty of sexually assaulting and killing the girl before he dumped her body in an unknown location.
Hatfield’s mother, Shannon Hazen, told the Associated Press that she is still hopeful her daughter’s remains will be found.
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