Man convicted of abuse in child's death dies in prison

The man convicted of felony child abuse last week in the death of a 2-year-old Cleveland County boy died in his jail cell, officials confirmed Tuesday morning.

Officials have not said how Dwight Justice died.

According to officials, the jailer saw Justice and waved to him early Tuesday morning, but was later alerted by Justice’s cellmate to a potential problem. Justice usually snored and he was not Tuesday morning, his cellmate told officials.

When the jailer checked Justice, he was not breathing.

An SBI investigation is forming to determine whether Justice died of natural causes or if foul play was involved.

SLIDESHOW: Scenes from Dwight Justice's trial

Justice died little more than a week after he was convicted of abusing Jeremiah Swafford, his stepson.

Last Monday, Justice was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs after the jury returned a guilty verdict on felony child abuse, but could not reach a consensus on a sentence.

The judge dismissed the jury and said Justice would be sentenced at a later date. He was facing up to nine years in prison.

Prosecutors were seeking a murder conviction for Justice, but the jury could not reach an agreement after hours of deliberations. 

Kathy Swafford, the boy's mother, is also facing murder charges in the death of her son. 

Her trial will start next month.