Suspect in Green Bay prison death charged with manslaughter, hate crime » Urban Milwaukee

The Wisconsin Examiner's Criminal Justice Reporting Project, with support from the Public Welfare Foundation, examines issues of incarceration, law enforcement and criminal justice

Jackson Bird told a prison officer that he had killed his cellmate “because [the cellmate] is black and gay,” says a criminal complaint filed on Thursday.

Vogel, 24, was charged with manslaughter with hate crimes and repeat offender penalties after Micah Laureanohis cellmate, died last week at the Green Bay Correctional Institution (GBCI).

The complaint contains information from correctional officers and Sergeant Justin Raska from the Brown County Sheriff's Office. Raska said Vogel admitted to committing the murder out of boredom, because of the victim's race and sexual orientation, and because the victim was a “potential child molester.”

Raska said he asked Vogel when he first thought about killing the victim, and Vogel allegedly replied it was the first day he met him. The sheriff's office said the two had been in the same cell for just a few hours before the incident.

A correctional officer discovered 19-year-old Laureano's death during a routine count. The officer found a pink piece of paper and Vogel's body blocking the view from the cell door window. Beth HardtkeDirector of Communications for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections told the Examiner that Vogel and Laureano were in temporary custody.

A doctor from the Brown County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy and reported that the preliminary cause of death was homicide by asphyxiation via strangulation with a strangulator. Items found in the cell included pieces of cloth believed to be around Laureano's neck, a note reading “Kill all humans!” and slurs against blacks and homosexuals.

Vogel had previously been found guilty of attempted first-degree intentional murder, the Wisconsin Examiner reported, while Laureano was found guilty of receiving and driving a vehicle without consent, complicity in a crime of aggravated assault with intent to cause bodily harm, robbery with violence and recklessly endangering safety in the first degree.

Vogel remains in custody at GBCI, the Brown County Sheriff's Office said Thursday. Captain Jody Lemmens from the sheriff's office said the investigation is ongoing.

Suspect in Green Bay prison death charged with murder, hate crime was originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.