A Tennessee man who was serving a 37-year prison sentence for a murder he committed in Cullman has been found dead in his cell at William Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County.

William Lynn Smith, 43, of Gibson County, Tenn., pleaded guilty in 2018 to the murder of Jeanie Cheryl Kent, also from Tennessee, who he choked to death in 2017.

Authorities said Smith and Kent dated on and off and had been staying in Cullman County for a few months when she was murdered at the Days Inn on U.S. 278 West in Cullman on March 25, 2017.

“At the time she was found, he was no longer there and had returned to Tennessee,” Cullman Police Sgt. Scott Sanford said in 2017.

According to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, Smith was found unresponsive on Saturday inside his cell at 9:43 a.m. by correctional staff performing a safety check. Smith was pronounced dead at 10:02 a.m.

An autopsy was performed Monday to determine the cause and manner of death. No further information is available at this time.