LICKING, Mo. – The Texas County Coroner confirms an inmate who died at South Central Correctional Center in Licking on Aug. 22 may have overdosed.

According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, 46-year-old Michael Hudson was serving multiple life sentences for first-degree murder and other convictions. The MDOC said Hudson was taken to Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston where he was pronounced dead.

Since KOLR 10 Investigates exposed a pattern of drug overdoses at the men’s prison last year, Texas County Coroner Marie Lasater began conducting routine drug screenings immediately after an inmate dies.

Lasater said those results were inconclusive, but she believes it’s possible Hudson died of a drug overdose. An autopsy will be done on Aug. 24 and the full results from toxicology testing will come back in a matter of weeks.

Two other inmates died at SCCC in about a three-week timespan. Lasater said their initial drug screenings showed both of them had fentanyl in their system. Their final toxicology reports are still pending.

If you have a story you’d like Investigative Reporter Lauren Barnas to look into, send her an email: lbarnas@kolr10.com.