BUTLER COUNTY — El Dorado Correctional Facility (EDCF) resident Andrew Ellmaker, 39, died Tuesday, according to a statement from the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Ellmaker was found unresponsive in his cell. Staff and Emergency Medical Service personnel administered life-saving measures but were unable to revive him. The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy.
Ellmaker was serving a 47-year sentence for convictions of first degree murder and aggravated battery in the brutal murder of his 26-year-old social worker Teri Zenner in Johnson County, Kansas in 2004.
Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC), the death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is ongoing.
The El Dorado Correctional Facility is the state’s second-largest facility. It serves only adult males and has a capacity of 1,900 residents.