A former North Carolina middle school gym teacher convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl was found dead in his prison cell over the weekend, prompting a homicide investigation by state authorities.

According to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, 60-year-old Ernest Nichols was discovered unresponsive inside his cell at Greene Correctional Institution in Maury at approximately 6:50 a.m. on Sunday.

Convicted murderer Wilbert Baldwin (left), allegedly killed convicted rapist Ernest Nichols inside a North Carolina prison on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/f7wQbS7JE5

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Prison officials attempted lifesaving measures, but Nichols was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later.

The facility was placed on lockdown immediately following the discovery.

Nichols had been serving a 15-year sentence after his 2011 conviction on charges related to the sexual abuse of a minor. He was scheduled for release in September 2027.

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On Tuesday, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a murder warrant was issued for inmate Wilbert Baldwin, 41, who was already serving time for a 2010 second-degree murder conviction.

Baldwin remains in state custody as investigators from the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) and the Department of Adult Correction review the circumstances of Nichols’s death.

Nichols, a former gym teacher at Ransom Middle School, was first arrested in 2009 following allegations that he had repeatedly assaulted a teenage girl over a six-month period beginning in the fall of 2008.

According to court records, the assaults occurred at his home in Huntersville, North Carolina.

Investigators said Nichols used social media to contact the victim, posing as his teenage son on Facebook to send explicit and coercive messages.

A search of Nichols’s home revealed multiple items of evidence, including videotapes, a camera, and other materials linked to the investigation.

Law enforcement officials confirmed that the victim was not a student at the school where Nichols worked.

Police reports from the time stated that the victim’s mother confronted Nichols before his arrest.

During that encounter, Nichols, who was married and had two children, reportedly admitted wrongdoing and called himself a “pig.”

Court documents show that Nichols resisted cooperating during his 2011 hearing.

According to reporting from WBTV, he argued with the presiding judge, claiming not to understand the charges and refusing to enter a plea agreement.

He eventually entered his pleas while being physically restrained by a bailiff.

Officials have not released details about how Nichols was killed, and no information has been made public regarding a possible motive.

The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction has confirmed that Baldwin was served with the murder warrant and will continue serving his existing sentence while awaiting further legal proceedings.

The Greene Correctional Institution has since resumed normal operations, but the investigation into Nichols’s death remains ongoing.

The Department of Adult Correction said all findings will be turned over to prosecutors once the inquiry is complete.

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