Hernando County inmate accused of murder after violent attack caught on jail security cameras

SPRING HILL, Fla. - An inmate at the Hernando County jail is facing a murder charge following a violent attack on another inmate that was recorded on the jail's security cameras, Sheriff Al Nienhuis said Tuesday.

According to deputies, William Gillespie was walking through the medical housing unit last Friday and can be seen on security video kicking another inmate, identified as Jory Van Antwerp, in the head multiple times.

Nienhuis said the injuries to Van Antwerp, who was being treated in the medical unit for a pre-existing serious health condition, didn't appear to be serious at first. As the day progressed, however, Van Antwerp's condition worsened, and he was transferred to a hospital where doctors diagnosed him with a brain bleed. 

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He passed away hours later.

Pictured: Jory Van Antwerp.

"It was totally unexpected and unprovoked," said Nienhuis, adding investigators aren't sure why Gillespie attacked Van Antwerp. "He claimed that our victim was talking expletive during the night. But when we interviewed the other inmates that were in there, they said they didn't interact at all. The victim was quiet. There was no interaction whatsoever."

Nienhuis said Gillespie, who was in jail on a battery charge and had faced additional charges for fighting with inmates, is now facing a second-degree murder charge. The sheriff said Gillespie has 11 prior felony arrests and five convictions, but he was not considered a violent felon, which would have required that he be separated from other inmates.

Pictured: William Gillespie. 

Van Antwerp, meanwhile, was behind bars for allegedly sexually assaulting a child between the ages of 12 and 18, the sheriff said. Nienhuis doesn't believe Gillespie knew about the accusations against Van Antwerp.

"We're about as confident as we can be that he had no idea," the sheriff said. "It was a crime of opportunity. He happened to be the closest person to him when he exited his cell and just snapped."

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