2 inmates dead since Friday at Rockview state prison, investigation ongoing
Two Rockview state prison inmates died since Friday, the state Department of Corrections wrote in statements released Wednesday.
Robert D. Williams, 40, of Lancaster County, died Friday after being found unresponsive in his cell, prison Superintendent Bobbi Jo Salamon said in a statement. He died at Mount Nittany Medical Center.
Andrew Yuhas, 61, of Luzerne County, died Monday. He was also found unresponsive in his cell and died at the hospital, Salamon said.
Their deaths are being investigated by state police at Rockview, as required by Pennsylvania policy. Autopsies for both men were completed Tuesday, Centre County Chief Deputy Coroner Judy Pleskonko said. Their cause and manner of death is pending.
Williams was serving a two- to 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in March 2020 to one felony count of retaliation against a witness and three misdemeanors in Lancaster County.
He spray-painted threatening messages on several buildings at Millersville University as a form of retaliation against a woman who testified against him in a previous criminal case, PennLive and other media outlets reported.
Williams was detained at the prison since October 2021.
Yuhas was serving a 16- to 32-year prison sentence. He pleaded guilty in June 1998 to 10 charges, including felony counts of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault.
A psychologist testified Yuhas planned the rapes, while a Luzerne County prosecutor described him as a “sick and dangerous individual,” The Times Leader reported.
Yuhas tearfully apologized before his sentence was handed down, telling a Luzerne County judge he “never meant to hurt anyone.” He was detained at the prison since March 2016.
