‘Done this before’ Ohio Prisoner admits to killing cellmate with towel

WARREN COUNTY — A prisoner has been sentenced after admitting to killing his cellmate in Warren County.

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Jedidiah Lang, 43, of Youngstown, was sentenced to 15 years to life after pleading guilty to killing Cody Bartimus at the Warren Correctional Institution (WCI) in 2023, according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.

Bartimus was found unresponsive in his cell during checks on Oct. 26, 2023.

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Medics transported him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office determined Bartimus’ cause of death to be strangulation, Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said.

Lang told the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) investigators he had his knee into Bartimus’ back while he pulled his neck with the towel. He said it was done to, “rip his head off.”

He stated he knew Bartimus was dead because he had, “done this before.”

Lang was previously sentenced to 15 years to life after being convicted in 2013 of murder in a Knox County case.

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