City jail inmate was strangled, officers say

Several Maryland correctional officers witnessed Davon Cole, 19, strangle a cellmate at the Baltimore City Detention Center Monday night, according to court documents charging Cole with first- and second-degree murder and assault.

The suspect "disregarded the officers' orders" to release Xavier Tilghman, 21, the documents state, and officers had to enter the cell to pull him off the victim. Cole had Tilghman pinned to the floor with his "arm wrapped tightly around Tilghman's neck," the officers told investigators.

Officers and medical staff tried to revive Tilghman, who was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital early Tuesday. The death was ruled homicide by strangulation.

Court records show Cole is serving a six-month sentence for drug possession and attempted drug manufacture and distribution. Tilghman was serving a nine-month sentence for carrying concealed dangerous weapons, records show.