Rolfe’s Killer Placed Under Medical Supervision

A murderer who held a prison counselor hostage earlier this week was transferred to medical supervision after he dived off the toilet in his cell.

Charles Bolton, 23, told an officer in the Intensive Management section of the Clallam Bay Corrections Center that his neck and legs hurt because he dived off the toilet, prison officials said Wednesday. X-rays showed no injuries but he was placed under supervision in the medical department, officials said.

Bolton is serving a life sentence for aggravated first-degree murder after raping 75-year-old Esta Rolfe of Wilbur and throwing her off the Sullivan Street bridge. He was diagnosed as schizophrenic and mentally retarded before pleading guilty in that case.

Officials hope to transfer Bolton to the Special Offender Center at Monroe, prison spokeswoman Patricia Woolcock said. The lock-up for sex offenders and mentally ill inmates would be able to do a better job of keeping Bolton from injuring himself or others, she said.

In a separate development, Bolton told hostage-incident investigators Tuesday that he had heard voices telling him to take a hostage and try to escape.

He used a razor blade attached to a toothbrush as a weapon and held a female counselor for three hours Monday before a team dressed in riot gear subdued him. He was then transferred to a segregation unit. No one was seriously hurt.

Bolton never made his demands clear during the event, but was interviewed later by a Clallam County sheriff’s deputy.

“Voices told him to do this,” Sgt. Dave Lenahan said. “He saw it as an avenue to escape.”

Bolton told a deputy that he thought he could get out of the prison and into a vehicle if he had a hostage, Lenahan said.