Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter was 20 and from Council Bluffs, Iowa. His mother, Paige Carter, said he called her nine or 10 times a week and often told her 'I love you' two or three times during their calls. He was held at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, where he was placed with a new cellmate, Angelo Bol, about a week before staff found him unresponsive in his cell on November 6, 2020, and he was pronounced dead that evening. Court records say Bol beat and strangled him, a grand jury indicted Bol for first-degree murder, and a court later found Bol not responsible by reason of insanity. His mother's lawsuit alleges that state officials knew the risks of housing her son with Bol, that prison records show Bol asked staff to move him that day and Carter was not moved, and that staff had stopped Bol's medications; the state agreed in 2025 to pay the family $395,000, pending legislative approval.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed; neglect alleged). Kevin Carter was killed by his cellmate, Angelo Bol, according to a grand jury indictment and court records, and his mother's and estate's federal lawsuits allege prison officials were negligent in housing him with Bol, who had a known mental illness and had asked to be moved, and who had been taken off medication. Bol was found not responsible by reason of insanity, and the lawsuits' claims have not been tested in court.
Reported by: Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon; Lancaster County grand jury (court); Nebraska state court trial record (court); Paige Carter, his mother, in a lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Estate of Kevin Carter, federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Lincoln Journal Star (reporters).
Lawsuit: His mother sued state prison officials, and the state agreed to pay $395,000 to settle the suit; his estate also sued in federal court in 2023 (Carter v. Frakes), and that case closed in 2025. Court record: Carter v. Frakes (D. Neb., 2023).
Sources (9)
- Grand jury indicts inmate for first-degree murder in Nov. 6 death of his cellmate at Lincoln prison
- Nebraska Corrections officials accused of negligence leading to inmate's death
- Nebraska Corrections officials face another lawsuit over slaying of inmate in a double-bunked cell
- Nebraska Department of Corrections sued by estate of deceased inmate
- Man found not responsible by reason of insanity after killing cellmate at Nebraska State Penitentiary
- Convicted killer charged with murdering cellmate found not guilty by reason of insanity
- Neb. to pay $395K to family of inmate killed by cellmate in 2020
- 3 Nebraska inmates died while 'double bunking' in prison. Could a new law save lives?
- In overcrowded Nebraska prisons, several suspected of killing cellmates while double bunked in cells meant for 1.