From staff reports
Clearfield County Coroner Kim Shaffer-Snyder has ruled the death of a Clarion County man who had been in state prison for child rape as a homicide.
Garrick Bloom, 48, of Shippenville, was found dead in his cell at SCI Houtzdale on Aug. 29.
Shaffer-Snyder said Thursday that Bloom’s death was the result of ligature strangulation, which is defined as a constricting band tightened by a force other than the body weight.
On Sept. 11, 2019, Judge James Arner sentenced Bloom to a minimum of 96 months to a maximum of 192 months on each of five first-degree felony counts of rape of a child, with the sentences to be served consecutively.
Bloom pleaded guilty to the above charges on Aug. 14, 2019.
Prior to his trial, Bloom fled Clarion County and was apprehended on Feb. 7, 2019, in a homeless shelter in Tallahassee, Florida.
Bloom’s death is being investigated by state police in Clearfield.
