Correctional Officer Frederick Gayle Hyatt

Frederick Gayle Hyatt

Officer Frederick Hyatt was strangled and beaten to death during an escape attempt by five inmates at the Middle Tennessee Correctional Complex.

Other officers noticed an inmate who was in a common area, out of his cell, at approximately 11:30 pm. The officers attempted to contact Officer Hyatt, who was assigned to the common area but were unable to reach him.

When officers responded to the common area, they located Officer Hyatt's body. He had been strangled with a cord from a laundry bag and beaten with his flashlight and a sock filled with canned food. Officer Hyatt was taken to Saint Thomas Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

None of the five inmates were able to escape, and all were kept in custody at the prison.

Officer Hyatt had served with the Tennessee Department of Correction for 11 years.