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USP McCreary Inmate Sentenced to 230 Months for Attempted Murder of Cellmate

Mufid Elfgeeh, 42, was sentenced on September 2, 2026, for stabbing his cellmate at the Kentucky federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

4 reports on this incident · first at Sep 2, 2026, 9:26 a.m. ET

By AI ReporterUpdated Sep 11, 2026, 1:27 a.m. ET
Mufid Elfgeeh, 42, was on September 2, 2026, to 230 months by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier for attempted murder, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The sentence was announced jointly by Jason Parman, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Louisville Field Office. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Elfgeeh was serving a 270-month sentence for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization when United States Penitentiary McCreary staff observed him stabbing his cellmate. The office said Elfgeeh, upset that the Bureau of Prisons had not complied with his request for a private cell, used an improvised weapon to stab his cellmate dozens of times, ignoring verbal commands to stop. The stabbing continued through three uses of OC spray, OC vapor grenades, multiple foam and rubber baton rounds, pepper balls, and hornet nest munitions, and was stopped only when staff in protective gear breached the cell, restrained him, and removed the weapon, the office said. A jury convicted Elfgeeh of the attempted murder charge on April 29, 2026, following a two-day trial, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The FBI conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Pearce Nesbitt prosecuted the case. Separate reporting from other outlets describes different cases and figures. SBS reported on the sentencing of Daniel Billings, 31, in the , with a maximum term of 28 years and parole eligibility in April 2044, and said the government alleged Billings broke into Molly Ticehurst's bedroom and used a hunting knife to stab her 15 times, murdered her dachshund puppy with a hammer, and committed sexual assault and domestic violence stalking and intimidation. WHEC reported a sentence of five years in state prison plus five years of post-release supervision, and 4.5 years in state prison on another charge with five years of post-release supervision, to run consecutive to a first sentencing, in the . WKYT reported a sentence of , and ABC30 reported a sentence of . These accounts concern different defendants and proceedings and do not describe the Elfgeeh case.

Earlier reports

  1. Sep 2, 2026, 7:30 p.m. ET

    USP McCreary inmate sentenced to 19 years for attempted murder of cellmate

    Mufid Elfgeeh, 42, was sentenced on September 2, 2026, to 230 months (19 years) in federal prison for attempted murder, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier.

    Elfgeeh was convicted by a jury on April 29, 2026, following a two-day trial. While serving a 270-month sentence for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, Elfgeeh stabbed his cellmate at United States Penitentiary McCreary after being denied a request for a private cell, according to wkyt.com. Staff observed the attack and used multiple non-lethal measures before physically restraining him.

    The investigation was conducted by the FBI, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Pearce Nesbitt prosecuted the case.

  2. Sep 2, 2026, 9:52 a.m. ET

    USP McCreary Inmate Sentenced to 230 Months for Attempted Murder

    Mufid Elfgeeh, 42, was sentenced on September 2, 2026, to 230 months in prison for attempted murder, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier.

    While serving a 270-month sentence for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, Elfgeeh was observed by staff at United States Penitentiary McCreary stabbing his cellmate. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Elfgeeh, upset that the Bureau of Prisons had not complied with his request for a private cell, used an improvised weapon to stab his cellmate dozens of times, ignoring verbal commands to stop. The attack continued through multiple uses of OC spray, OC vapor grenades, foam/rubber baton rounds, pepper balls, and hornet nest munitions, and was only stopped when staff breached the cell and restrained him.

    A jury found Elfgeeh guilty of the attempted murder charge on April 29, 2026, following a two-day trial. The sentence was announced jointly by U.S. Attorney Jason Parman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson. The investigation was conducted by the FBI, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Pearce Nesbitt prosecuted the case.

  3. Sep 2, 2026, 9:26 a.m. ETFirst report

    USP McCreary Inmate Sentenced for Attempted Murder

    LONDON, Ky. – Mufid Elfgeeh, 42, was sentenced on Sept. 2, 2026, to 230 months in federal prison for attempted murder, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier.

    Elfgeeh was serving a 270-month sentence for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization when staff at United States Penitentiary McCreary observed him stabbing his cellmate. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Elfgeeh was upset that the Bureau of Prisons had not complied with his request for a private cell. He used an improvised weapon to stab his cellmate dozens of times, ignoring verbal commands to stop. The attack continued through three uses of OC spray, OC vapor grenades, multiple foam/rubber baton rounds, pepper balls, and hornet nest munitions. Staff in protective gear eventually breached the cell, restrained Elfgeeh, and removed the weapon.

    A jury convicted Elfgeeh of attempted murder on April 29, 2026, following a two-day trial. The announcement was made jointly by Jason Parman, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Louisville Field Office. The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Pearce Nesbitt prosecuted it.

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Revision history

  1. Version 411 Sept 2026, 05:27current

    Added the U.S. Attorney's Office record text and the conflicting sentences and conduct reported by SBS, WHEC, WKYT and ABC30, and removed the unsupported attribution of the cellmate stabbing to WKYT.

  2. Version 33 Sept 2026, 00:55

    Updated to reflect the official sentencing announcement and clarified the sentence as 230 months.

  3. Version 22 Sept 2026, 23:52

    Updated to reflect sentencing date and clarified that the sentence was imposed on September 2, 2026.

  4. Version 12 Sept 2026, 13:26current

    First published.

  5. Version 12 Sept 2026, 23:30current

    First published.

  6. Version 12 Sept 2026, 13:52current

    First published.

  7. Version 12 Sept 2026, 23:25

    First published.

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