Pennsylvania Father Erick Gainer Beaten to Death by Cellmate Less Than 24 Hours After Arriving to Serve 90-Day DUI Sentence

A Pennsylvania father who reported to jail to serve a short sentence for drunk driving was brutally beaten to death less than a day after his arrival, leaving family and friends devastated and demanding answers.

Erick Gainer, 41, of Williamsport, was found unconscious and severely injured in his cell at the Cumberland County Prison on October 23 — just hours after beginning a 90-day sentence for a DUI conviction. According to court documents, another inmate reported hearing Gainer scream, “Stop!” and “Help! What did I do to you?” moments before the attack. He was discovered with catastrophic head injuries and a swollen brain after what officials have described as a violent assault by his cellmate.

“It wasn’t even 24 hours from when I dropped him off at prison when I got the phone call from the warden,” said Tessa Shorb, Gainer’s girlfriend, who described him as “the biggest dorky dad-joke teller ever.” Gainer, the father of a young daughter, had been sentenced just two days earlier, on October 21, for a November 2023 crash in Silver Spring Township when his car veered down an embankment. The following day, he was dropped off at jail to begin serving his time.

Before his transfer, Shorb recalled trying to reassure her anxious boyfriend, telling him, “Don’t worry. It’s one of the safest jails, the nicest jails. You’re going to get through it.” It would be the last conversation they would ever have.

Less than 24 hours later, Gainer’s cellmate, Dangelo Nowlin, 33, of California, allegedly attacked him inside their shared cell. Investigators say Nowlin hurled Gainer from the top bunk onto the floor before repeatedly punching and kicking him. Another inmate reported hearing the beating around 11:50 a.m., along with Gainer’s cries for help. According to police, Gainer had been asleep when the attack began and appeared to have done nothing to provoke it.

Prison staff rushed Gainer to the hospital for emergency surgery, but his injuries were too severe. He died on October 24, just two days after arriving at the facility. “This was just cold-blooded murder,” said Lonnie Gainer, the victim’s brother. “He took a kind, gentle soul. Erick wouldn’t hurt a fly. He took the better part of me. If I could trade places with Erick, I would have in a heartbeat.”

Gainer’s girlfriend Tessa Shorb had reassured him that he would be fine when she dropped him off the day before.

Gainer’s loved ones are now questioning how such a violent attack could happen inside a supposedly secure facility. “With brain injuries, seconds matter, minutes matter,” Lonnie said. “How long did they keep him in their infirmary? How long was he there before someone came to his aid?”

Authorities have charged Dangelo Nowlin with criminal homicide. Records show that Nowlin had been serving time for trespassing and assault after refusing to leave a truck stop and allegedly punching someone in the head. Officials have not disclosed a motive for the fatal assault on Gainer.

The tragedy has left Gainer’s family heartbroken and searching for accountability. What was meant to be a short three-month sentence for a non-violent offense ended in a senseless and brutal death — one that his family says should never have happened.

Dangelo Nowlin, 33, is charged with murdering the father of one.