Inmate charged in prison murder he confessed to in letter to newspaper

A former Warren County prison inmate has been indicted for murdering another inmate, something he confessed in a letter earlier this year.

If convicted, Joel M. Drain could face the death penalty.

Drain, 37, was indicted on charges of aggravated murder, murder while under detention, possession of a deadly weapon and specifications for repeat murder and repeat violent offender, according to a list released Monday by the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.

Earlier this summer, Drain wrote in a letter to the Columbus Dispatch that he beat prisoner Christopher M. Richardson in an April 13 attack at Warren Correctional Institution, which he claimed was captured on video surveillance cameras, the newspaper reported.

RELATED: Inmate confesses to prison murder in letter to newspaper

Richardson died April 15 at Miami Valley Hospital, the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office confirmed in July.

Richardson, 29, was serving a four-year sentence for aggravated arson. He set fire to his mother’s home in January 2017, Delaware County court records show.

Drain, 37, is now in the Ohio Penitentiary near Youngstown, the state's super max security prison. He is serving 30 years to life for aggravated murder, theft and felonious assault in Hancock County.

Drain found out that Randy Grose called police to report Drain had stabbed his father. Drain later beat and stabbed Grose to death, according to the bill of particulars in the Hancock County case.

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