9WANTS TO KNOW
STERLING - The Colorado Department of Corrections says it will review how it notifies next of kin after 9Wants to Know spoke with the family of a murdered inmate who said a prison employee at the Sterling Correctional Facility incorrectly told them the death was not bloody.
"We certainly, as a department, are always looking at operations... and if this is an area we can improve on we will," Katherine Sanguinetti, spokesperson with the Colorado Department of Corrections, said.
She did not say the prison made a mistake.
A photo sent to 9Wants to Know on Tuesday showed the blood-covered scene where inmate Cleveland Flood was found. Blood covers one wall and a sink in the cell and Flood's body is shown lying on the floor.
Flood, 38, was found dead about midnight on Saturday. He lived in the Denver area before going to prison and was serving a 48-year prison sentence for burglary.
9Wants to Know confirmed Wednesday that Flood was stabbed multiple times.
"It certainly has raised awareness in the department, this family's reaction," Sanguinetti, said after the family spoke out on 9NEWS.
The family says a prison official lied to them.
Flood's mother told 9Wants to Know that a DOC employee told her Flood did not die a bloody death.
"I asked her, 'Was there any blood?' She said, 'No there was no blood. There was nothing wrong with him. That's why we don't know if it was a homicide or suicide,'" Linda Sanchez said Tuesday.
Sanchez told 9Wants to Know Wednesday she was happy with the decision to review the department's next of kin notification policy.
Two inmates have been separated from the general prison population and are under investigation in connection with the murder, 9Wants to Know has learned.
Sterling Correctional Center is the same prison where Douglas Alward escaped in August. In a 9Wants to Know investigation, the investigators showed it was Alward's seventh escape from custody.
When Alward was captured, the head of the Department of Corrections ordered a top-to-bottom review of guard and inmate security policies.
Have a comment or tip for investigative reporter Jace Larson? Call him at 303-871-1432 or e-mail him at jace.larson@9news.com. You can also follow him on: Twitter, Facebook and Blogger.
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)