James 'Whitey' Bulger was bludgeoned to death by inmates during a prison attack last year, death certificate reveals
Whitey Bulger, the notorious Irish-American organized crime boss and FBI informant who once led the Winter Hill Gang in Massachusetts, was found dead at the United States Penitentiary, Hazelton, West Virginia, on October 30 last year. He was 89.
Inmates bludgeoned the wheelchair-bound Bulger to death within hours of his arrival at Hazelton. And while the details of his death were unclear, his death certificate, which was made public on Thursday sheds some light on his passing.
The certificate, which lists his time of death as 8:21 am, officially ruled his death as a homicide. It states the cause of death as "Blunt Force Injuries of the Head," and reports that his injuries occurred when he was "assaulted by other(s)".
The approximate time between the onset of his injuries and his death was listed as "minutes," and he was pronounced dead by the Preston County Medical Examiner at 9:04 am after lifesaving measures failed.