The death of a 23-year-old man at Waupun Correctional Institution in March has been ruled a homicide, according to a medical examiner’s determination.
The cause of death for Damien D. Evans was a small bowel obstruction caused by scar tissue that formed after abdominal surgery, Dodge County Medical Examiner PJ Schoebel told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
According to Schoebel, Evans had undergone the surgery after being shot in the abdomen in Racine County. His death was ruled a homicide because it was indirectly caused by the shooting.
Evans was not in state custody at the time of the incident. Schoebel called the case as “an unusual one.”
Evans is the first prisoner known to have died at Waupun Correctional in 2025 and second death ruled a homicide at the maximum-security facility in just over a year. In February 2024, Donald W. Maier, 62, died of probable dehydration and malnutrition a week after staff began periodically switching off the water to prevent him from flooding his cell. His death was ruled a homicide.
The investigation into Evans’ death was conducted by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office. Local authorities will not pursue criminal charges in relation to his death, Chief Deputy Chad Enright said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waupun prison death ruled a homicide, medical examiner reports