Calgary criminal murdered in his prison cell

CALGARY- A high-risk offender with a long criminal history has been murdered in his prison cell.

Curtis Hill has been described by police as an opportunistic predator, who used violence to get what he wanted—especially with authority figures. He was convicted of aggravated assault in connection with a 2011 attack in Calgary on a limousine driver who stopped because he thought someone outside had damaged his vehicle.

The driver said he was stabbed by Hill after he got out of the limousine.

On Christmas Eve,  Hill himself was the victim of a violent attack, after being killed at the Edmonton Remand Centre.

“It was a beating-type incident, and we do have several suspects that we will be eventually looking at and interviewing in the coming days and weeks,” says S/Sgt. Bill Clarke from the Edmonton Police Service.

Police are reviewing surveillance video, and say there were about 60 inmates in the cell block at the time of the attack. It’s not known how many guards were around.

“It’s the nature of the business, I would suggest,” says Clarke McChesney, chair of the union representing correctional peace officers. “People who don’t necessarily like each other and are high-risk offenders or high-profile offenders sometimes make enemies over the smallest things. If you aren’t completely supervised, they wait for an opportunity and strike.”

He adds safety is a huge concern at the Edmonton Remand centre.

“Certainly we don’t feel as safe as we should, so I’m not sure how offenders do either.”

Hill had been ordered to undergo a psych assessment, to see if he would fit into the dangerous offender label. His lawyer says Hill wasn’t supposed to be in remand, as court had ordered him to go to the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre.

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning.