Stateville Correctional Center inmate, Ronald Rice, dies of COVID-19, coroner's office says

MORRIS, Ill. (WLS) -- An inmate at the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet died from COVID-19 Sunday at a nearby hospital, according to a statement from the Grundy County coroner's office.

66-year-old Ronald Rice died early this morning at Morris Hospital in Morris, Ill., the Grundy County coroner's office said.

No further information on his death has been released at this time.

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In 1984, Rice was sentenced to prison for the sexual assault of a young boy. While in prison, he was charged with first-degree murder in connection to the 1980 death of another boy, then 11-year-old Edwin Gulbransen.

According to state prison records, he would've been eligible for parole in 2048.