Michael Robert Keel

Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Assault

Date/Time of Incident:
Monday, April 10, 2023
12:30 pm

Incident to Death Duration:
2 days

Incident Location:
1 Park Row Street, Michigan City

Incident County:
LaPorte

Incident Township:
Michigan

Weapon Used:
Blunt object

Suspect Disposition:
Awaiting trial
(currently incarcerated)

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Corrections Employee
Michael Robert Keel
Indiana Department of Correction
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Panel 39E, Line 34 (2024)

Included (2024)

Corrections Employee Michael Keel died two days after being assaulted at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.

Inmates were working in the steel shop when one inmate began a verbal argument with Corrections Employee Keel that turned physical. He was attacked and beaten about the head with a steel pipe.

Corrections Employee Keel was airlifted to Memorial Hospital of South Bend in critical condition where he underwent surgery. He died from his injuries two days later and became an organ donor to give the gift of life.

The 39-year-old inmate is serving a 220-year sentence for child molesting, one 60-year term and four consecutive 40-year terms, from Carroll County. In June 2023, charges were filed in this incident for murder and aggravated battery.

Corrections Employee Keel, from Valparaiso, was a maintenance foremen at the facility. He was survived by his wife, Janifer (née Hiatt); sons, Robert, Nathan and Nicholas Keel, and Matthew Fox; daughter, Heather Keel; four grandchildren; and sister, Terri (David) Funkhouser.

Historical Notes

• Corrections Employee Keel is the third of seven Indiana line of duty deaths in 2023.
• He is the 18th line of duty death of the Indiana Department of Correction.
• His line of duty death is the 16th that has originated from LaPorte County.

All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Personal Details

Age: 61

Law Enforcement Service:
29 years

Burial Place:
Anglecrest Cemetery, Valparaiso

• Corrections Employee Keel is the third of seven Indiana line of duty deaths in 2023.• He is the 18th line of duty death of the Indiana Department of Correction.• His line of duty death is the 16th that has originated from LaPorte County.

All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

• Corrections Employee Keel is the third of seven Indiana line of duty deaths in 2023.
• He is the 18th line of duty death of the Indiana Department of Correction.
• His line of duty death is the 16th that has originated from LaPorte County.