A former middle school teacher serving time for repeatedly raping a 15-year-old girl has been killed inside a North Carolina prison by a fellow inmate already convicted of murder, authorities have confirmed.
Ernest Nichols, 60, was found unresponsive beside his bunk at Greene Correctional Institution in Maury on Sunday morning at approximately 6.50am. Prison staff immediately performed emergency life-saving procedures before paramedics arrived, but Nichols was pronounced dead at 7.22am.
The incident sent the minimum-security facility into immediate lockdown. By Tuesday, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office had served a murder warrant to 41-year-old inmate Wilbert Baldwin, who is already serving a sentence for second-degree murder stemming from a 2010 conviction in Richmond County.
Baldwin was given no bond and transferred to Maury Correctional Institution whilst remaining in the custody of the Department of Adult Correction. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is now leading the murder inquiry at the request of Greene County Sheriff Matt Sasser.
A spokesperson for the State Bureau of Investigation confirmed no additional details were available as authorities await autopsy results before releasing a full report on the killing.
Nichols had been employed as a physical education teacher at Ranson Middle School in Charlotte for 14 years before his arrest in October 2009. He was immediately suspended without pay and permanently barred from school grounds when allegations of his crimes emerged.
The disgraced teacher was originally arrested on 27 charges, including five counts of second-degree rape, five counts of statutory rape, six counts of second-degree kidnapping, four counts of second-degree forcible sex offence, three counts of crime against nature, and six counts of indecent liberties.
According to the Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office, Nichols had posed as his teenage son on social media platforms including Facebook and MySpace to communicate with his 15-year-old victim, who was not a student at his school. The abuse spanned a six-month period beginning in autumn 2008.
Court documents revealed Nichols sent sexually explicit messages to the teenager and made disturbing requests, including asking her to create sexual stories and to message him whenever she entered the shower. The abuse took place at Nichols’ family home in Huntersville, where he repeatedly raped the girl.
During the abuse, Nichols allegedly watched the teenager engage in consensual sexual activity with another male and instructed her to tell anyone who asked that she wanted to have sex with him.
The victim’s mother confronted Nichols after her daughter disclosed the abuse. During that confrontation, Nichols referred to himself as a “pig,” according to prosecutors.
Following his arrest at his home in October 2009, investigators seized videotapes, a video camera, photographs and sex toys from the property. Authorities also revealed that Nichols attempted to dispose of video recordings by throwing them into woods along Highway 73, but police successfully retrieved the evidence.
Nichols’ behaviour during court proceedings was described as combative and uncooperative. He repeatedly refused to enter a plea, insisting he did not understand the charges against him and claiming he was not a “straw man” when the judge instructed him. At one point, a bailiff was forced to physically restrain him.
On 5 August 2011, Nichols pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape as part of a plea agreement. The kidnapping and second-degree rape charges were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea.
He was sentenced to between 216 and 269 months imprisonment, equivalent to 18 to 22 years. Nichols was credited with time already served since his arrest and had been projected for release in September 2027, meaning he had less than two years remaining on his sentence when he was killed.
Greene Correctional Institution, where the killing occurred, is a minimum-security facility that houses male offenders in dormitory-style accommodation rather than traditional cells. A spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction clarified that Nichols was not murdered in a cell, but rather in the dormitory housing area.
Sheriff Sasser told local media that investigators expected to have an arrest soon after the discovery of Nichols’ body, a prediction that proved accurate when Baldwin was charged two days later.
Baldwin’s criminal history includes his 2010 conviction for second-degree murder. Some sources indicate the original crime occurred in 2007 in Richmond County. He is currently serving a 20-year sentence for that conviction.
The prison has since resumed normal operations following the temporary lockdown, though the investigation into the circumstances of Nichols’ death remains ongoing. All findings from the inquiry will be turned over to prosecutors once the investigation is complete.
Nichols was married with two children at the time of his arrest in 2009. The Department of Adult Correction has not released details about how Nichols was killed or whether any weapon was involved in the attack.
The killing highlights the dangers faced by inmates convicted of crimes against children, who are often targeted by other prisoners. However, authorities have not disclosed whether Baldwin’s actions were motivated by the nature of Nichols’ conviction or other factors.
Baldwin will continue serving his existing sentence whilst awaiting further legal proceedings on the new murder charge. The case serves as a reminder of the swift and often brutal form of justice that can occur behind prison walls for those convicted of sexual offences against minors.
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