A Philly man died after being assaulted inside a city jail

A 44-year-old man incarcerated at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road died after he was assaulted by his cellmate early Thursday morning, police said.

At 3:44 a.m., Rocco Carbonaro was found by a correctional officer with a bloody face, according to an internal incident report obtained by The Inquirer. After the attack, prison staff responded to Carbonaro’s cell and medical staff administered CPR — to no avail, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons said in a statement.

Carbonaro was pronounced dead at 4:35 a.m. Thursday, the statement said.

No motive was released, and police said no weapon had been recovered.

Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney said the assault is under investigation.

There have been 12 deaths in the city’s prison system this year, said Claire Shubik-Richards, executive director of Pennsylvania Prison Society. Among them was the fatal stabbing in March of 33-year-old Jamal Collier during a fight at Curran-Fromhold.

Philadelphia’s prison system has been beset by problems, including several prisoner escapes, multiple deaths of incarcerated people, and a vote of “no confidence” in Carney by the union that represents Philadelphia correctional officers. The union cited concerns about safety and staffing.

Also on Thursday, a 34-year-old inmate escaped from the nearby Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, also on State Road. Law enforcement officials were searching for Gino Hagenkotter, who was performing supervised work duties on the rear of the prison grounds when he escaped, according to the sources and an internal police memo obtained by The Inquirer.