Michael Hernandez

Michael Hernandez, 31, died on April 29, 2021, while held at Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City, Florida, according to state corrections records. WFOR-TV reported video showing him collapsing inside the prison, and an unnamed source told the station that a possible drug overdose was involved. The Florida Department of Corrections said no foul play was suspected and referred the death to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and its Inspector General. An autopsy released in August 2021 by the Columbia County Medical Examiner's Office attributed his death to a heart irregularity made worse by morbid obesity, classified it as natural, and found no external trauma and no illegal drugs.

Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed). The Columbia County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death natural, from a heart irregularity made worse by morbid obesity, and the autopsy found no illegal drugs, despite an unnamed source's earlier suggestion to WFOR-TV of a possible drug overdose.

Reported by: Columbia County Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner).

Sources (13)

• Inmate Mortality, fiscal year 2020-2021, archived Florida Department of Corrections, Inmate Mortality
• Michael Hernandez, Who Killed Best Friend in Middle School Bathroom in 2004, Dies in Prison NBC 6 South Florida, May 1, 2021
• Florida middle school killer dies in prison at 31 WABI (also KTVF Fairbanks, WJHG, WCTV, Upper Michigan's Source, cbs8.com), May 2, 2021
• Florida man convicted of killing friend in middle school bathroom as teenager dies in prison at 31 FOX 13 Tampa Bay (also FOX 29 Philadelphia), May 2, 2021
• Wannabe serial killer who killed classmate dies in Florida prison New York Post, May 2, 2021
• Michael Hernandez, who murdered classmate in middle school bathroom stall, dies in prison Miami Herald, May 2, 2021
• Michael Hernandez, Who Murdered Classmate Jaime Gough, Dies In Prison Oxygen Official Site, May 3, 2021
• Florida middle school killer dies in prison at 31 - WSAV-TV WSAV-TV, May 3, 2021
• Florida middle school killer dies in prison at 31 Fox 59, May 3, 2021
• Convicted killer Michael Hernandez dies in prison at age 31 WPLG Local 10, May 3, 2021
• Autopsy: Bad heart killed Michael Hernandez, imprisoned for murdering friend at school Miami Herald, August 9, 2021
• Middle School Murderer Who Died in Prison Had Heart Issue: Autopsy NBC 6 South Florida, August 9, 2021
• What Killed Michael Hernandez? Autopsy Out for Man Who Killed Classmate Newsweek, August 9, 2021