‘Bored’ inmate kills new cellmate within hours for being Black, gay, Wisconsin suit says
.png "Micah Laureano, 19, was killed by his cellmate in Green Bay Correctional Institution in 2024, according to a federal lawsuit filed Feb. 25.")
The family of a former Wisconsin inmate is suing after they say he was killed by his cellmate just hours after being placed together.
The federal lawsuit filed Feb. 25 lists several individuals as defendants, including the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and Green Bay Correctional Institution staff.
In a response to a request for comment, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections told McClatchy News in an email it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
In January 2024, Micah Laureano, 19, was sentenced to one year in prison in connection to being a party to a substantial battery charge, according to a civil complaint.
On April 12, Laureano was transferred from Dodge Correctional Institution to the Green Bay Correctional Institution.
In the weeks leading up to Aug. 27, around the date Laureano was found dead, he was placed in temporary lock-up, the lawsuit said.
On Aug. 20, he wrote a letter to his mother saying, “I’m praying so hard that they move me to the ‘MU’ which is the looney bin LOL - But that’s where all the guys and (illegible) go that are too vulnerable and overly unsafe in general population,” according to the civil complaint.
He went on to say, “I guess its 100% better than GP (General Population) as far as safety and they have washing machines and day rooms to be out and chill in,” the lawsuit said.
However, after being removed from temporary lock-up, Laureano was placed in a cell with Jackson Vogel, who was convicted of attempted first-degree homicide at 18 years old.
Vogel was 16 years old when he repeatedly stabbed and strangled his mother, according to the lawsuit. He received a 20-year prison sentence.
Within hours of being placed in a cell with Vogel, Laureano was suffocated and hanged, the civil complaint said.
Laureano was found hanging from his bunk with his hands and feet tied, the lawsuit said.
Vogel told a deputy that he didn’t like Laureano, and he killed him because he was “bored” and “Laureano ‘checked all the boxes,’ including being Black and gay,” the lawsuit said.
Vogel said “he always thinks about killing people and strangling someone created ‘ecstasy,’” according to the complaint.
“Defendants failed to protect Mr. Laureano when they placed a particularly aggressive, violent, and discriminatory inmate with a history of severe physical assault and mental health issues in a cell with a vulnerable, 19-year-old black gay male, Mr. Laureano,” the lawsuit said.
In an interview with WLUK, Micah Laureano’s mother, Phyllis Laureano, said her son was an “amazing kid.”
“He was good at a lot of different things. He could write, draw, he was very artistic. He loved his baby brother, he loved his family. He had just a lot of trauma and things that he had to sort out,” she said.
The lawsuit is asking for an undetermined amount in damages.
Vogel, 25, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, court records show. He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 12:51 PM.
