Death of jailed Prospect man under investigation

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ENFIELD — The Connecticut Department of Correction is investigating the untimely death of a 53-year-old inmate from Prospect who was found unresponsive last week in a jail cell at the Enfield Correctional Institution.

Charles Gattert was pronounced dead Dec. 4 nearly an hour after correctional staff found him in a cell at about 3:10 p.m. after a physical altercation with another inmate, a press release stated.

Gattert was serving a six-year sentence for risk of injury to a minor and had been incarcerated since Sept. 26, 2012. The risk of injury charge stems from an East Haven incident involving a 6-year-old child.

Gattert, who was convicted of rape in 1989, is also listed on the state’s sex offender registry.

Correctional and medical staff immediately initiated life-saving measures on Gattert after he was found, the release said. Gattert was taken to an “outside medical facility,” where he was pronounced dead at approximately 4 p.m., the release said.

No further details surrounding the “altercation” or injuries Gattert may have suffered were released.

The incident is under investigation by state police and the department. A representative for the Chief State Medical Examiner’s Office said the cause of Gattert’s death was labeled “pending further studies.”

That classification means tests need to be performed to determine if drugs or alcohol were in his system.