A New Jersey inmate has been sentenced to life behind bars for killing a fellow prisoner just one day before the victim was scheduled to be released from jail.
On Monday, Bruce Duette, 45, was sentenced to life in prison after a jury in May found him guilty in the Nov. 21, 2022, beating death of Martin Sanchez, who was found unresponsive in his cell at the Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, N.J.
Officials said Sanchez died of blunt force head injuries and neck compression.
Duette was charged after police investigators found his DNA on a sneaker and sock and under Sanchez’s fingernails, officials said.
Sanchez was set to be released on Nov. 22, 2022, the day after he was killed. Police did not immediately detail why he was in prison.
At the time, Duette was serving separate sentences on conspiracy to commit murder and aggravated manslaughter charges. He was scheduled to be released in March 2030.
He was also pending trial in the stabbing of another inmate in November 2020. He has since pleaded guilty in that case, officials said.
