Inmate dead following fight with cellmate at Utah State Prison

UTAH STATE PRISON — A fight between two inmates Sunday left one person dead and another facing additional charges.

A disagreement and some teasing between two cell mates was reportedly taken as a slight and escalated into fisticuffs inside their cell, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson. After the victim was punched several times in the head, he was strangled with a "ligature made from a laundry bag," according to jail records.

Corrections officers were made aware of the fight after receiving notice of a disturbance and an unresponsive inmate by other inmates.

Mark Helms, 47, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the noon altercation. Athian Kuot Mawien, 29, was arrested for investigation of murder. The sheriff's office was called to investigate the case and booked Mawien into the Salt Lake County Jail, though he was expected to be returned to the prison soon, Hutson said.

Both inmates were housed in a section of the prison typically reserved for sex offenders. Helms and Mawien had been cell mates since Nov. 6, according to the prison.

Mawien was convicted in 2004 of two amended charges of attempted aggravated sex assault, a first-degree felony; and forcible sex abuse, a second-degree felony. He was sentenced to seven years to life in prison.

Helms pleaded guilty in 1998 to child sex abuse and dealing in harmful materials to a minor. He received a suspended prison term and was sentenced to one year in the Davis County Jail. The following year, however, he was charged with 13 additional crimes relating to child sex abuse. He was later sentenced to six years to life in prison.

Contributing: Geoff Liesik

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