The Vermont State Police is investigating the death of an inmate at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport.

Michael Cornell, 34, of Newport was found in his cell by Department of Corrections staff just before noon Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. He was given emergency care by DOC staff and EMS personnel before being taken by ambulance to North Country Hospital in Newport, where he was pronounced deceased shortly after 1 pm.

Detectives from the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations were notified and responded to the facility to perform a death investigation. Preliminary investigation indicates the death was not suspicious.

An autopsy will be performed at the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington to determine the cause and manner of death. Testing, including toxicology, could take six to eight weeks.

The investigation into the details and circumstances surrounding the death is ongoing.

The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) will conduct an internal review, to include an administrative and medical review, of Mr. Cornell’s death. The Vermont State Police and the Prisoners’ Rights Office were notified per state law and protocol. Both entities will conduct separate investigations into the death, in conjunction with the Vermont DOC administrative and medical reviews.

Cornell was lodged at NSCF on February 4, 2021. On Saturday he was residing in the quarantine unit after returning from an outside medical appointment in accordance with Vermont DOC COVID-19 mitigation protocol.