# Hancock State Prison inmate death investigated as homicide after cellmate altercation – WGXA > A 36-year-old inmate at Hancock State Prison in Sparta, Devin Edwards, died on October 30 after a physical altercation with his cellmate, and the Georgia Department of Corrections is investigating the… **Published**: 2026-11-06 **Source**: https://gps.press/gps-news/hancock-state-prison-inmate-death-investigated-as-homicide-after-cellmate-altercation-wgxa/ **Author**: Georgia Prisoners' Speak --- A 36-year-old inmate at Hancock State Prison in Sparta, Devin Edwards, died on October 30 after a physical altercation with his cellmate, and the Georgia Department of Corrections is investigating the death as a homicide. Hancock County Coroner Dontrelle Andrews told WGXA that Edwards was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center in Sandersville, where he was pronounced dead at 8:55 a.m. Andrews said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation, and the GBI Crime Laboratory ruled the death a homicide following an autopsy. Edwards had been incarcerated since 2022, serving a 15-year sentence for a methamphetamine trafficking conviction out of Coffee County involving 200-399 grams.