Lawton man to serve 30 years for beating death of cellmate

OKLAHOMA CITY – A Lawton man will serve three decades in federal prison after pleading guilty to beating and using a medical device to kill his cellmate while in the Stephens County jail.

On Monday, Walter Lee Kassanavoid, 28, was sentenced to serve 360 months, or 30 years, in federal prison after pleading guilty on Jan. 3 to second-degree murder, according to a statement by U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. During his plea, he admitted he killed the victim, Michael William Ford, by repeatedly striking him with his hands, feet, and the medical device.

Kassanavoid was indicted on June 21, 2022, by a federal grand jury for counts of first and second degree murder.

In August 2021, Kassanavoird was being held in the Stephens County jail. On Aug. 11, 2021, Kassanavoid admitted to trying to kill Ford by pressing buttons on Ford’s Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (“CPAP”) machine; he told investigators he thought about “taking away his mask to make him stop breathing, but that didn’t work,” the indictment states.

The next day, Kassanavoid said, he heard voices from the vents directing him to kill Ford and he submitted to the direction. He assaulted Ford for about 12 minutes with his hands and feet, stomping the man’s face and, ultimately, used the oxygen concentrator to the CPAP machine to smash the man’s head until he became fatigued and the cellmate was lifeless, the indictment states.

This case is in federal court because Kassanavoid is a member of the Comanche Nation and the crime took place within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation, according to Troester.

U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones also sentenced Kassanavoid to serve five years of supervised release.

In announcing his sentence, Judge Jones noted the serious and violent nature of Kassanavoid’s assault. Judge Jones also noted the need to punish Kassanavoid for his conduct.