SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - An inmate who killed his cellmate in Washington state was seeking vengeance against the convicted child rapist who preyed on his younger sister, authorities said.
Shane Goldsby, 25, of Longview faces a first-degree murder charge in connection to the June 2 death of his cellmate Robert Munger, 70, of Kelso at Airway Heights Corrections Center, The Spokesman-Review reported.
Surveillance video shows Goldsby attacking Munger from behind in a common area of the prison, knocking him to the ground and proceeding to punch, kick and stomp on his head. Munger died three days later.
A judge sentenced Munger in December to at least 43 years in prison after he was convicted of child rape, child molestation and possession of child pornography.
Goldsby, who was in prison after being convicted of stabbing someone, stealing a police car and injuring a state trooper, was transferred from another state prison to Airway Heights on June 2 around 10:30 a.m. Detectives responded to a reported attack against Munger about two hours later.
Goldsby told KHQ News that he killed Munger because his younger sister, who is still a minor, was one of Munger’s victims. Goldsby said he found out who Munger was and requested a different cellmate, but was ignored.
“I had so much stuff going on in my head,” he said. “I wasn’t stable at that point. I wasn’t. I was getting to that point, because (Munger) kept wanting to give me details about what happened, what he did – about the photos and the videos of him doing this stuff. It was building up.”
Goldsby said he only meant to harm, not kill, Munger, and he would have preferred to see Munger spend his entire life in jail.
State Department of Corrections spokeswoman Janelle Guthrie said prison officials review a range of information when determining housing assignments, including prisoners’ criminal records, medical and mental health issues, gang affiliations, and involvement in past acts of violence.
“There was no clear indication in the documentation regularly reviewed for housing assignments that there was a potential conflict,” Guthrie said.
The department is cooperating with the Airway Heights Police Department and the Spokane County prosecutor’s office.
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