Joshua Tisak
Joshua Tisak, 33, was held at SCI Mercer, a state prison in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, when he died on June 21, 2026. He was found unresponsive in his cell and taken by ambulance to a hospital in Grove City, where he was pronounced dead. The Mercer County coroner, John A. Libonati, ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head and neck. A cellmate has been charged with criminal homicide; according to a criminal complaint, the cellmate admitted a fight with Tisak in their cell, and the charges are allegations that a court has yet to decide.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody. The Mercer County coroner ruled the death a homicide from blunt force trauma, and a criminal complaint says a cellmate admitted a fight with him in their cell before he died; the cellmate has been charged, and the charges are allegations.
Reported by: Mercer County Coroner John A. Libonati (medical examiner or coroner); Pennsylvania State Police, in a criminal complaint against his cellmate (outside investigators); Superintendent Melinda Adams of SCI Mercer (the agency that held him); Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (the agency that held him).
News reports (7)
- Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Death in Custody Reporting Act dashboard
- Mercer County inmate dies in hospital after being found unresponsive in cell | Local News
- Wheatland man accused of killing Mercer Prison cellmate
- SCI Mercer inmate charged in cellmate's death
- Inmate died after alleged fight with cellmate over 'hooch' being made in Western Pennsylvania cell
- Man charged with killing cellmate at SCI Mercer
- SCI Mercer inmate charged in cellmate's death