The father of convicted killer and former UW student, Adam Peterson, said he was ""disturbed"" by recent discoveries that his son's suicide may have been assisted by his cellmate Joshua Walters, in an interview with The Capital Times.
Melvin Peterson, Adam Peterson's father, learned of the new information after a call was received from law enforcement officials from Dodge County. Peterson was serving a life sentence in jail for the January 2008 murder of Joel Marino.
""I was blown away by the level of involvement of his cellmate and the graphic description in the report,"" Melvin Peterson told The Capital Times Thursday. ""As a parent, I found it very disturbing that, of all the inmates Adam could have been placed with, he was placed with someone that was more than willing to help him take his own life. That blew me out of the water.""
Walters first told officials he was asleep during the time Peterson killed himself. However, the criminal complaint against Walters reveals otherwise. Allegedly, Walters told Peterson he would also kill himself after helping Peterson hang himself.
Also, according to The Capital Times, a DNA test of the sheet Peterson used to hang himself contained DNA that likely belongs to Walters.
Adam Peterson was diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis but was not on suicide watch at the time of his death. He had previously been on suicide watch after attempting to kill himself Sept. 25.
Melvin Peterson told The Capital Times he has been contacted several times by Disability Rights Wisconsin, a state agency designated to ensure the rights of people with disabilities. The agency wants to investigate whether the state correctional officials could have prevented Peterson's death.
""I think any investigation into possible negligence on the part of the prison system leading up to Adam's death is totally appropriate,"" Melvin Peterson told The Capital Times.
Walters is set to appear in court April 27.
