Inmate at centre of fatal assault on prison guard charged

A prison inmate at the centre of an investigation into the death of a prison officer has been charged with assault and Police expect further charges to be laid.

Detective Inspector Lance Burdett of the Waikato CIB said a post-mortem examination will be held in Auckland tomorrow to help determine the cause of death of 33-year-old prison officer, Jason Palmer.

"Mr Palmer suffered fatal injuries during an assault by the inmate as he was unlocking cells in the prison yesterday afternoon. Taken to Middlemore Hospital by ambulance in a critical condition, he died this afternoon.

"The inmate has been charged with assault and will appear in the Hamilton District Court tomorrow. Our investigation is ongoing and further charges are likely, depending on the results of the post-mortem."

Mr Palmer's death has been reported to the Waikato Coroner.

* For media, cell phone blockers are in operation within prisons thus Mr Burdett is not contactable in relation to interviews, voice pieces from release etc. Should further charges develop an update will be made via release.