Overview
- Nichols, 60, was found unresponsive at Greene Correctional Institution early Oct. 5, staff attempted life-saving measures, and EMS pronounced him dead at 7:22 a.m. after a brief lockdown.
- State and county authorities served a murder warrant to inmate Wilbert Baldwin, 41, who is already imprisoned for a 2010 second-degree murder conviction and is being held without bond.
- The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office are leading the case, and an autopsy and full incident report have not yet been released.
- A Department of Adult Correction spokesperson said the facility uses dormitory-style housing and disputed that Nichols was murdered inside a cell.
- Nichols taught at Ranson Middle School in Charlotte, was convicted in 2011 after allegations he groomed a 15-year-old by impersonating his son online, and was arrested in 2009 when investigators seized videos, photos, and sex toys.