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Eric Millerberg, accused in the death of 16-year-old Alexis Rasmussen, was stabbed multiple times Monday night in the Utah State Prison.
Investigators suspect Millerberg's cellmate in the stabbing, as Millerberg was in his cell when he was stabbed and no one else had access, said Steve Gehrke, spokesman for the Utah Department of Corrections.
Millerberg, 37, was expected to survive but remained hospitalized Monday afternoon. Investigators have found a sharpened piece of metal, believed to be the weapon, Gehrke said.
The motive for the stabbing is not known, Gehrke said. Millerberg and his cellmate both were members of the gang Silent Aryan Warriors, Gehrke said.
Millerberg was in prison for probation violations related to a 2010 forgery case. He is awaiting trial on charges in Weber County of first-degree felony child abuse homicide in Rasmussen's 2011 death, along with obstructing justice, desecrating a body and having unlawful sexual activity with a minor. Rasmussen was the baby sitter of Millerberg's children, police have said.
His wife, Dea Millerberg, is charged with desecration of a human body related to the girl's death.
Dea Millerberg testified last April at her husband's preliminary hearing that he injected a fatal mix of heroin and methamphetamine into the teen and that the couple, in a panic, then dumped the girl's body in a remote part of Morgan County.
There is no indication Monday's stabbing is related to the pending homicide case, Gehrke said. Unified Police Department is investigating the stabbing.