Teenage inmate charged in death of youth prison employee

A 16-year-old inmate at a Wisconsin juvenile detention center faces murder and manslaughter charges after a staff member he allegedly attacked died, court records show.

The incident occurred Monday evening at Lincoln Hills School in Irma, a Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) juvenile detention center.

The employee – identified as 49-year-old Corey Proulx – suffered serious injuries while attempting to restrain a juvenile inmate after he allegedly attacked another school employee, according to DOC.

Proulx, a youth counselor at Lincoln Hills School, died of his injuries on Tuesday, the DOC said.

The teen was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter, malicious wounding and two counts of assault in connection with the incident, a criminal complaint states. During a court hearing Wednesday, a judge ruled that the suspect – Javarius Hurd – will be charged as an adult.

Hurd’s bail was set at $100,000 and he was ordered not to have any contact with Lincoln Hills School staff or the victims’ families.

If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 58 years in prison.

ABC News has contacted the teenager’s attorney for comment.

The teenager allegedly told investigators he had “built up aggression” toward the first victim because he believed the employee was “abusing her power and treating him unfairly” and planned to attack her, according to the indictment. He allegedly asked another teenager for a cup of soap and then threw it at her, according to the indictment.

He is accused of subsequently hitting the unidentified employee “several times in the face and upper body” before fleeing into a courtyard, the indictment states.

When Proulx followed him to arrest the teenager, Hurd allegedly hit him “multiple times without cause” and punched him twice in the face “with full force,” according to the indictment.

Proulx went limp and fell to the ground, hitting his head on the pavement, the lawsuit says. The incident was captured on surveillance camera video, the lawsuit says.

Proulx was flown to a hospital by medical helicopter in critical condition, authorities said. The Lincoln County coroner declared him brain dead Tuesday afternoon, the indictment states.

The employee’s injuries were treated in a hospital and she has since been discharged, the complaint states.

Other juvenile inmates were not involved in the incident, the DOC said.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers ordered U.S. and state flags to fly at half-staff until sunset Thursday in Proulx’s honor.

“By all accounts, Corey was a dedicated public servant who advocated and supported the youth he worked with with kindness and compassion,” Evers said in a statement.

DOC Secretary Jared Hoy said Proulx was a “dedicated professional, colleague and friend.”

“A career in law enforcement with the dual mission of protecting the public and guiding individuals through rehabilitation can be demanding and requires so many sacrifices for our staff and our families, and Corey made the ultimate sacrifice,” Hoy said in a statement. “Our DOC family mourns Corey’s loss and we are thinking of all of his family and friends.”

His fiancée and daughter remember Proulx as a “great partner, father, son and human being,” DOC said.

Klint Trevino, superintendent of Lincoln Hills School, said Proulx was a “dedicated and compassionate member of our team who always strived to make a positive impact on the lives of the young people we serve.”

State Rep. Michael Schraa, chairman of the Assembly’s corrections committee, said in response to Proulx’s death that he wanted to hold an informational hearing on conditions at the DOC.

“This is a prime example of why staff need the appropriate resources to protect themselves and other inmates,” he said in a statement Wednesday.