Pipe-bomb killer Mark Hofmann was transferred from a Salt Lake hospital to the Utah State Prison infirmary in Draper Thursday night to complete his recovery from a drug overdose.
He was visited by a psychiatrist and a psychologist Friday morning and was under 24-hour video camera surveillance."He does not appear to have suffered any long-term effects from the overdose," said David R. Franchina, Department of Corrections public affairs director. "The prognosis for complete recovery is good."
Hofmann, 36, was rushed to the University Medical Center Wednesday afternoon after prison guards found him unconscious in his maximum security cell. A subsequent medical evaluation concluded that he had ingested a large amount of tricyclic antidepressants, the same drugs he used to attempt suicide two years ago.
Franchina said that absent any other information from Hofmann himself, prison officials will now treat this latest drug overdose as another suicide attempt.
Investigators will not be able to question Hofmann until his condition improves, Franchina said.
Other inmates and prison personnel who had contact with Hofmann during the days prior to the incident have told investigators that they noticed nothing abnormal in Hofmann's behavior. Four inmates in the maximum security Uintah 3 unit where Hofmann was housed had access to antidepressants, but they all denied giving any to Hofmann.
Franchina said additional blood tests may shed more light on the source of the drugs.
Hofmann, who is serving what amounts to a life sentence for the October 1985 pipe-bomb murders of Kathleen Sheets and Steven F. Christensen, attempted suicide on Sept. 15, 1988. On that occasion, he suffered some skin damage to his right arm from loss of circulation.
"This latest episode was not nearly as severe as the previous one," Franchina said.