The Cole County Grand Jury indicted prisoner at Jefferson City Correctional Center for the murder of his cell mate in February.
The indictment against Ryan A. Vaught, 23, was handed down Tuesday morning.
He is charged with one count of first-degree murder.
JCCC officials contacted the Cole County Sheriff's Department at 4:55 p.m. Feb. 16 about a homicide in the facility's 7 House, after JCCC staff were contacted by inmates in a neighboring cell to "a violent disturbance." The victim was identified as Daniel P. Skipper, 65.
He was found with multiple wounds on his face and scalp, and a piece of fabric wrapped around his neck.
The release said staff unsuccessfully tried to revive Skipper.
Skipper was serving a 50-year sentence - 20 years for a statutory rape conviction, followed by 30 years for a statutory sodomy conviction.
Vaught was detained by prison staff after the incident and placed him in a segregated unit.
Corrections Department and online court records show Vaught was serving a 30-year sentence for five convictions each of armed criminal action and assault on law enforcement, and for a burglary - and had completed sentences for stealing a firearm and tampering with a motor vehicle.