SKIPPACK — An inmate at the state prison in Skippack Township, already serving time for aggravated assault, must answer to homicide charges for allegedly fatally beating another inmate at the facility.
Dwight Matthew Williams, 42, formerly of Philadelphia, was held for trial, after a preliminary hearing before District CourtJudge Adam T. Katzman, on charges of first- and third-degree murder in connection with the alleged Aug. 4, 2024, fatal beating of Ashokkumar Guru, 67, who was found dead in his cell at the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix.
The prison is located along Mokychic Drive in Skippack Township.
Assistant District Attorney Bradley Walter Deckel relied on the testimony of two witnesses, a correctional officer from the prison and state police Trooper Nayirrah Bellinger, to show sufficient probable cause to move Williams to trial.
No defense witnesses testified during the preliminary hearing. Defense lawyer Thomas Carluccio represented Williams during the hearing.
Williams now faces a Nov. 6 formal arraignment hearing on the charges in county court. After that hearing, a judge will set Williams’ trial date.
A conviction of first-degree murder, an intentional killing, is punishable by a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. Third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, hardness of heart or recklessness of consequences, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison upon conviction.
The investigation began about 9:31 a.m. on Aug. 4 when an inmate approached a correctional officer at the prison to report that he returned to his cell and discovered his cellmate, Guru, was unresponsive on the floor but breathing, according to a criminal complaint filed by Bellinger and county Detective John Wittenberger.
The correctional officer observed blood on Guru’s face and blood on a box near Guru that was consistent with a physical attack, authorities said. Prison staffers immediately performed CPR on Guru until emergency medical officials arrived at the prison.
A paramedic told detectives that he observed blood around Guru’s head and bruising around his eyes and head and observed “a suspected shoe imprint on the victim’s face,” according to the criminal complaint.
Despite the lifesaving measures that were performed for more than 30 minutes, Guru was pronounced dead at 10:24 a.m.
A subsequent autopsy performed by Dr. Khalil Wardak, a forensic pathologist with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, determined Guru’s cause of death was blunt impact injuries and the manner of death was ruled to be homicide.
Detectives reviewed surveillance camera footage from the prison and determined Guru’s cellmate was not in the cell at the time of the fatal beating.
According to video surveillance, at 9:12 a.m., Guru left his cell and walked across the cellblock to a water fountain to fill his water bottle. At 9:15 a.m., Guru returned to his cell, entered it and shut the door, according to the video surveillance footage.
“This is the final time Guru was seen alive,” Wittenberger and Bellinger wrote in the arrest affidavit.
At 9:16 a.m., according to video surveillance, Williams entered Guru’s cell and then exited the cell at 9:25 a.m.
Williams was observed entering his own cell at 9:29 a.m. and a “red substance on the bottom of Williams’ left sneaker can be seen,” according to the criminal complaint.
At 9:32 a.m., Williams left his cell holding what appeared to be a brown paper bag and handed the bag to another inmate who tried unsuccessfully to dispose of the bag because the cell block had already been locked down, according court papers.
Investigators recovered the paper bag and found it contained Fila brand white sneakers, according to the criminal complaint.
Another inmate told investigators that he looked through the window of Guru’s cell while the cell door was closed and observed a male “stomping on the victim’s chest” but could not identify the attacker by name, according to the arrest affidavit.
According to court records, in May 2022, Williams was sentenced to 6 to 12 years in prison on charges of aggravated assault, carrying a firearm without a license and recklessly endangering another person in connection with a November 2019 incident in Philadelphia.
Guru, of Philadelphia, according to court records, was serving a life sentence for a 2010 conviction of first-degree murder in connection with a November 2009 homicide in Philadelphia.
