Man brags about killing cellmate at Florida prison, then tries changing story, feds say
A man let prison personnel know how “proud” he was for strangling his cellmate to death with a torn bed sheet, according to federal prosecutors.
One corrections officer recalled that Romeo Lopez-Hernandez, 37, was “very happy” and laughing at his cellmate’s death on Feb. 1, 2021 at Coleman Federal Correctional Complex, court documents say.
After confessing and bragging about the death, Lopez-Hernandez, of Coleman, Florida, tried changing his story, prosecutors said.
Although he tried blaming his cellmate’s death on suicide during a three-day trial, the evidence led a jury to convict him of first-degree premeditated murder on Jan. 19, according to officials.
Since then, a judge has sentenced Lopez-Hernandez to life in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced in an April 25 news release.
McClatchy News contacted Lopez-Hernandez’s attorneys for comment on April 25 and didn’t immediately receive a response.
Sometime after Lopez-Hernandez strangled his cellmate, identified as “A.J.” in court documents, he called a correctional officer over to his cell where they found A.J. face down on a bunk on Feb. 1, 2021, according to a criminal complaint.
Medical personnel tried restarting A.J.’s heart with an AED, but it caused him to vomit and convulse, the complaint says.
A.J. was then taken to the ICU at Leesburg Regional Medical Center in Leesburg, where he was ultimately pronounced dead hours later, according to the complaint. The cause of death was determined as “homicide by strangulation.”
While speaking to psychologists in prison, Lopez-Hernandez said he had no “remorse” over A.J.’s death and “felt he had to be more violent in prison to avoid becoming a victim,” the complaint says.
He also said he practiced the religion Santeria, and a “spiritual guide” instructed him on killing his cellmate, according to the complaint.
Lopez-Hernandez also told a lieutenant specific details on how he killed A.J. after catching him off guard, the complaint says.
His sentencing comes after an FBI and Federal Bureau of Prisons investigation.
Coleman is about 55 miles northwest of Orlando.
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