Inquests to be held into deaths of 2 prisoners at Belleville-area facility

Inquests will be held intothe deaths of two prisoners at a federal institution near Belleville, Ont. including a man serving a first-degree murder sentence after an attempt to steal Nazi-era daggerswent horribly wrong.

Richard MacKenzie, 42, and Jordy MacKay, 31, were both prisoners at the Warkworth Institution, a medium-security prison in the municipality of Trent Hills, Ont.

MacKenzie died on June 28, 2014,while MacKay diedAug. 16, 2015, both after being found unresponsivein theircells.

Both inquests were announced Tuesday afternoon.

Stole Nazi dagger, burned body

MacKenzie was convictedof first-degree murder in 2007 in the death of an 83-year-old Toronto woman.

According to Crown evidence presented during the original trial and summarized during a rejected appeal of his conviction in 2012, MacKenzie belonged toa work crew who had excavated part of the woman's basement in the fall of 2003.

During that work, MacKenzie found a bag of five Nazi daggers that had belonged to the woman's dead husband. He stole one of the daggers and sold it to an antique dealer, adding that he might have additional items for sale, according to that evidence.

On March 18, 2004, the woman was alone in her home when an intruder broke in and covered her mouth with adhesive tape, the appeal ruling said.

The woman vomited and ended up choking to death. The intruder then set a fire around her body and burned it, the ruling said.

In the initial trial, the Crown argued that on the morning of the killing,MacKenziehad made a call to the antique dealer whom he sold the original dagger to.

MacKenzie's defence team argued at trial that there wasn't enough evidence to showhe was the intruder, but a jury convicted him nonetheless.

2nd-youngest dangerous offender

MacKayhad been serving time at Warkworthafter being declared a dangerous offender in 2004, whenhe forced his way into a woman's car at knifepoint and stole $105 and some jewelery.

He then tried to repeat the same crime five days later, but the victim escaped and MacKay was arrested.

• N.B. man becomes 2nd-youngest 'dangerous offender,' at 21

The Saint John, N.B., man had a long juvenile record that included assaults, sexual assaults, break-and-enters and armed robberies, but the knife robbery was his first offence as an adult.

At the time of his final conviction, the then 21-year-old MacKaybecamethe second-youngest Canadian to be declared a dangerous offender.

One Ontario psychologist who met with MacKay more than 90 times described him as a pathological liar with the traits of a psychopath.

MacKenzie's inquest is scheduled for March 8, while MacKay's is expected to take place on March 9 and 10.

Inquests are mandatory under the Coroners Act whenever a prisoner dies in custody.