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Murder suspect held for trial mistakenly released in Baltimore

A Maryland corrections center said the mistaken release of an inmate being held on a murder charge "leaves many questions."

By Frances Burns

BALTIMORE, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- An accused killer was mistakenly released from a Baltimore detention center, and no one noticed he was gone for for two days, a corrections spokesman said.

Rodriquez Purnell, 30, was being held at the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center, a state facility used to house inmates who would be at risk in jail or who need segregation because they are a danger to others. He was apparently released Friday, although officials did not provide details about how it happened.

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Purnell was expected to go on trial in November, charged with the murder of Terrence Rheubottom in 2013. Rheubottom was found in a burgundy Honda Accord that had been sprayed with gunfire.

A jury was unable to reach a verdict in an August trial.

Mark A. Vernarelli, a corrections spokesman, said officials at the center began an investigation Sunday, when they realized Purnell was gone. The mistaken release was announced publicly on Monday.

"There are many questions to be answered in this case," Vernarelli said.

Purnell has been in and out of prison for most of his adult life. He got a 9-month sentence for assaulting a corrections officer while he was being held on the muurder charge.

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