The men were cellmates at the prison in the 5700 block of state Route 63.
Honsaker is accused of using a torn piece of a bedsheet to strangle Purk on May 11 after an incident in their cell. Honsaker then is accused of trying to flush the torn cloth down the toilet, according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.
Honsaker’s case was assigned to Common Pleas Judge Robert Peeler; however, his arraignment hearing has not yet been scheduled, county court records show.
Honsaker, of Warren in Trumbull County, previously was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence and sentenced to life in prison, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records. Honsaker pleaded guilty to charges in the stabbing death of his 71-year-old great-uncle, Donald Giovannone, in September 2015, according to the Tribune Chronicle in Warren.
Purk was serving up to life in prison for a 2005 rape conviction, Champaign County Common Pleas Court records show.
Honsaker is now incarcerated in the supermax Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown.
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