OSP inmate accused of murder faces federal indictment
Jan. 31—An inmate accused of killing his cellmate while serving a prison sentence at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester was indicted in federal court.
Austin Furr, 21, of Glenpool, was serving a five-year sentence at OSP when he was accused of killing his cellmate, 62-year-old Dong Son, in 2021.
Furr was indicted in the Eastern District of Oklahoma on a charge of second-degree murder in Indian Country.
State charges of first-degree murder and escaping from Department of Corrections were dismissed in November 2022 after a Pittsburg County judge ruled the state of Oklahoma did not have criminal jurisdiction over Furr due to him being Native American.
An affidavit in the murder case states investigators with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General were called to OSP on Sept. 26, 2021, for a report of an "inmate on inmate homicide."
Court records show Furr was being held at OSP after his March 2020 escape from Jackie Brannon Correctional Center.
According to the report, investigators saw multiple lacerations and several areas of blunt force trauma on Son's body along with paint poured on his face.
Oklahoma Department of Corrections records show Son was serving a life-sentence without parole for the 1989 shooting death of an Oklahoma City business owner.
A search of the cell revealed numerous blood-like splatters along with a "smiley face" drawn in blood on the wall, the report states.
The affidavit states Furr told investigators during an interview that Son attacked him with a wood block object and that he acted in self-defense and Furr used a "homemade sharpened instrument" made of plastic to stab Son multiple times before he stopped moving.
Furr told investigators he placed Son's body onto the lower bunk and laid a Bible next to him and "lit up and smoked a marijuana cigarette" before a correctional officer ordered him to be placed into restraints at the door, the affidavit states.
The report states Furr admitted to pouring paint on Son's face during the fight and drawing the smiley face on the wall in blood after the incident occurred and flushing the homemade weapon down the toilet.
An autopsy of Son showed the man was stabbed more than 50 times and "findings consistent of strangulation" along with two bite marks on the man's arm, the report states.
Court records show charges of murder in the first degree and escape from jail and/or confinement are currently being held in abeyance in Choctaw Nation District Court.
