COVINGTON, Ky. — A Kenton County inmate claimed 'voices' in his head told him to attack his cellmate on May 14, according to a Kenton County police officer who testified on Tuesday during a pretrial hearing in Kenton County District Court.
The officer testified that a deputy in the Kenton County Detention Center said he heard "two loud thuds" coming from an isolation cell.
When the deputy reached the cell, he saw 32-year-old Johnathan Maskiell stomp twice on the face of John Daulton, according to the officer's testimony.
Daulton, 61, died on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the assault charge filed against Maskiell was amended to murder.
"This is fairly rare I think it's safe to say that anything this serious happens while in jail custody," Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders told the I-Team after the hearing. "But we prosecute these with just as much vigor as we do any assault that happened out on the street. We certainly want our detention center as safe as it can be."
"The injuries were horrific," Daulton's daughter Tonya Jones said. "I think the hardest thing for me was thinking about what he went through while that was happening."
Jones shared photos and videos with the I-Team showing Daulton while he was on a ventilator in his hospital room.
"He always told me his biggest fear was dying alone in prison or jail," Jones said. "So I wanted to be there until he took his last breath."
KCDC records show Daulton was arrested on a warrant for a parole violation.
Daulton was booked into the detention center at 8:10 p.m. on May 13, according to the KCDC website.
Maskiell was arrested on warrants for violating the conditions of his release from an Ohio prison, according to Covington police.
He was processed into KCDC at 1:43 a.m. the next day, less than six hours after Daulton, according to the detention center's website.
In a news release on Monday, the Kenton County Police Department said officers arrived at KCDC around 3 p.m. on May 14 and found Daulton unresponsive.
"It's no secret that my dad engaged in a lot of criminal activity, but he didn't deserve this," Jones said.
Maskiell is being held without bond.
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