Gerard Altman, 42 (pictured), committed suicide on Monday at the Lumberton Correctional Institution in North Carolina
A 42-year-old man who was serving two life sentences for murdering his adoptive mother and stepfather in an armed robbery committed suicide on Monday.
Gerard Altman was found unresponsive in the inmate dormitory at the Lumberton Correctional Institution around 3.40am on Monday, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
Prison staff tried to resuscitate Altman, but he was pronounced dead at 5.18am, after being transported to the hospital.
Altman had been behind bars since February 2009, when the bodies of his adoptive mother Laura Gallagher, 58, and her 70-year-old husband James, were found beaten to death in their Ogden home.
James Gallagher had 17 stab wounds to his face, chest and lower torso. Investigators believe he was struck with a hammer and stabbed with a kitchen knife.
His wife, who adopted Altman when he was a baby with her first husband, was found face down with trauma to the back of her head.
Altman was serving two consecutive life sentences for murdering his adoptive mother and stepfather in 2009. Above the Lumberton prison
After murdering the couple, prosecutors said Altman made off with two checks for $500, and $2,000 worth of jewelry, which he pawned.
They say he used the money to buy baseball cards at Walmart, a stay at a Howard Johnson motel, and hundreds of dollars worth of food and drink.
It’s believed that Altman committed the murder at the end of January. The Gallaghers’ bodies weren’t found until February 4, when neighbors called police to conduct a welfare check. They had not returned calls after James’ birthday and one of them had missed a dentist appointment. By the time police broke into the home, the bodies had already started decaying.
Altman was arrested within 24 hours of the bodies being found. He was taken into custody at an apartment building.
DNA and bloody footprints left behind at the home connected Altman to the crime.
Laura Gallagher, 58, and James Gallagher, 70, were found beaten to death in their Ogden home on February 4, 2009
He initially faced the death penalty, but struck a plea deal with prosecutors – agreeing to plead guilty in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table.
After murdering his mother and stepfather, he stole $2,000 in jewelry which he pawned
He pleaded guilty in 2011 to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to two consecutive life-in-prison sentences.
Altman was one of three children that Laura Gallagher, a social worker, adopted with her first husband.
Altman was born addicted to heroin and neglected by his mother. His public defender said he spent the first 11 months of his life without human touch.
‘What that means is this child was born into a world without love,’ Assistant Capital Defender Rick Miller said.
Altman continued to struggle with mental health issues throughout his life – and later got addicted to drugs and alcohol.
He also got into trouble with the law – serving 13 years in a New York State prison for robbery.
While he was in prison, the Gallaghers moved to North Carolina, and he joined them when he was released.
At a court hearing back in 2011, Altman said he regretted what he had done.
‘I would just like to say I am sorry for what happened, and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t regret (it),’ he said.