Prisoner Convicted of Jailhouse Killing

Lorenzo Smith Jr.

After five months behind prison bars awaiting his fate, thirty-one-year-old Lorenzo Smith Junior, accused of the murder of his prison inmate, Alfonso Eck, was found guilty of the crime today. Justice Troadio Gonzalez has deferred sentencing for May fifth, 2017.  Smith Junior was accused of murder after Eck who found dead inside his cell on the night of October ninth, 2009.  Initially, authorities believed his death was a suicide, but Doctor Mario Estradabran later ruled it a homicide. Smith Junior was the only other person inside the cell at the time of Eck’s murder. A prison officer who found Eck said he was on the toilet in a stooping position with a blanket around his neck.  Smith had one hand on Eck’s neck and the other on his chest.   Estradabran testified that he died from manual strangulation.  He also said in his testimony that Eck had an injury to his head caused by a sharp instrument.