Inmate charged with murder in beating death of cellmate at Montgomery County jail
Joseph Michael Hodum, 38, of Philadelphia, was charged with first-degree murder in the April 13 death of Stephen Klampfer, 50, in the Montgomery County Correctional Institution.
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An inmate at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility has been charged with murder in the death of his cellmate after a beating in late March, authorities said Friday.
Joseph Michael Hodum, 38, of Philadelphia, was charged with first- and third-degree murder after Stephen Klampfer, 50, of Norristown died from severe brain injuries sustained in the attack.
About 8:30 a.m. March 30, authorities said, Hodum and Klampfer were in the medical wing of the jail. Klampfer was sleeping when Hodum, seemingly without provocation, punched him in the head multiple times, they said. When Klampfer rolled from the bed to the floor in an apparent effort to defend himself, authorities said, Hodum stomped on his head more than 20 times until Klampfer fell unconscious.
Two correctional officers assigned to keep watch over the area said they requested backup in an effort to stop the attack.
After the attack, Hodum admitted to the assault and said he attacked Klampfer because he had made a sexual advance.
Christopher Hartnett, one of the correctional officers at the scene, contradicted that account and said Klampfer had been asleep when the assault began.
Hodum had been jailed on a probation violation, said Kate Delano, spokesperson for the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. He had 2014 convictions for theft and receiving stolen property. Klampfer was convicted of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, and public drunkenness in 2014. It was unclear why he was in jail.
This week, District Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar denied Hodum bail on the murder charges. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 21.
Hodum initially had been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, court records show. The murder charge was added after Klampfer’s April 13 death.
In an obituary, Klampfer’s family wrote that he was a brother, uncle, and aspiring musician. He suffered from schizophrenia, they said, and was a “good, albeit, troubled person.”
“He tried to make his way in a world that provides far too little support for the challenges that face those with mental health problems,” his family wrote. “Stephen is mourned, loved, and missed by his family.”