Inmate who was assaulted by fellow prisoners dies

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) — Officials say a Mississippi inmate has died several days after he was assaulted by fellow prisoners.

Torrie Ellis, 40, died Thursday at a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, news outlets reported. Ellis had been serving a life sentence at Marshall County Correctional Facility in Holly Springs.

Management and Training Corp., the private company that runs the prison, said in statement that Ellis had been severely beaten by three other inmates May 12 on an outdoor walkway at the prison. An autopsy was being conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

Ellis was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of the 2001 murder of Rita Funderburk at a grocery store she owned in Coahoma County.