COVINGTON, Ky. — A man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after he killing his cellmate at the Kenton County Detention Center in May 2023, said Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders.
Johnathan Maskiell, 33, was sentenced on Monday after he pleaded guilty to the murder of John Daulton on April 10.
According to a Kenton County police investigation, a deputy saw Maskiell stomp on Daulton's face inside their cell on May 14, 2023. A week later, the 61-year-old Daulton, died from his injuries, according to police.
"The injuries were horrific," Daulton's daughter Tonya Jones told WCPO 9. "I think the hardest thing for me was thinking about what he went through while that was happening."
After his death, Daulton's family filed a lawsuit against Kenton County and Jailer Marc Fields.
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"The purpose of this lawsuit is to shed light on the procedures, practices, and customs within the Jail that allowed this horrific event to occur," attorneys Paul Hill and Deanna Dennison wrote in the civil complaint filed in United States District Court in Covington. "If any one of the multiple safeguards jails use for protecting their inmates was actually utilized in this case, this tragedy would not have occurred."
According to the lawsuit filed by Jones, Daulton was arrested on May 13 for an alleged probation violation on his one year sentence for drug possession. He was placed in a small "isolation cell" under "suicide watch" even though KCDC staff weren't concerned that he was suicidal, according to the suit.
Early the next morning, Maskiell was placed in the same cell with Daulton, according to court records.
According to the lawsuit, several hours later KCDC received a law enforcement notification that jail employees should use "caution" around Maskiell because he had "violent tendencies."
KCDC police requires that violent inmates be housed in a single cell, according to the lawsuit.
"Additionally, a Jail shift commander had hand-written on both Maskiell’s and Daulton’s face sheet that they were to be observed every 10 minutes," according to the lawsuit. "Both the jail policy requiring Maskiell’s isolation, and the handwritten 10-minute directive were ignored, leading to the tragic death of John Daulton."
According to the lawsuit, Daulton was medically cleared to join the general inmate population more than four hours before he was assaulted.
But Daulton remained in the cell with Maskiell, according to detention center records.
"There obviously needs to be some things changed within their system to keep things safe," Daulton's daughter Tonya Jones said. "I want justice for my dad."
The lawsuit also claims that detention center staff violated jail policy by repeatedly failing to check on the two inmates every 10 minutes.
Kenton County officials declined the I-Team's request for an interview on the incident and refused to answer our questions emailed to them. In a written statement emailed to the I-Team in December 2023, Assistant Kenton County Attorney Chris Nordloh declined to discuss details of the case until it's resolved.
In the lawsuit, Jones is asking for damages, including money to pay her father's more than $300,000 in medical bills.
