A 50-year-old federal inmate murdered his cellmate in a Central Florida prison.
Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II sentenced federal inmate David Lee Bishop, of Ocala, to life in prison based upon his conviction for second degree murder.
According to court documents, on February 3, 2019, Bishop strangled his cellmate to death at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Sumter County, Florida using a torn bedsheet.
Bishop called his mother shortly after the murder, telling her that he had “messed up.” When his mother asked if there had been an accident, Bishop responded that “it was totally and utterly on purpose” and that he was “just waiting on them to find ‘it.’”
When prison guards discovered his cellmate’s body, Bishop immediately admitted to the murder. At the time of the offense, Bishop was already serving a life sentence.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Belkis H. Crockett, Tyrie K. Boyer, Robert E. Bodnar, Jr., and Michael P. Felicetta.
Bishop pleaded guilty in April, three days before his federal jury trial was scheduled to begin.
