Prison death possible slaying

BOISE – An inmate who was found not breathing in an Idaho prison gym restroom may have been the victim of a homicide, state correction officials say.

The dead inmate was identified Thursday as Peter William Curtright, 21, of Meridian.

The investigation has been turned over to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and detectives say for now they are treating the case as a homicide.

Curtright was discovered at 7:15 p.m Wednesday in the gym of the Idaho State Correctional Institute, a medium-custody prison south of Boise with about 1,500 inmates.

Officials with the Idaho Department of Correction say attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful and there was no obvious cause of death. Results of an autopsy by the Ada County coroner are pending.

Curtright was serving a life sentence for convictions in Ada and Twin Falls counties, including aggravated battery, three counts of assault and one count each of witness intimidation and robbery. He was eligible to be considered for parole in 2014, state officials said.