A white man accused of beating a 19-year-old with special needs to death while they were cellmates at the Harris County Jail in Texas is being charged with murder.

Fred Harris, who had an IQ of 62, was considered "brain dead" after allegedly being beaten and stabbed by Michael Paul Ownby, 25, who was over twice the size of Harris.

And his victim, 19 year old #FredHarris
pic.twitter.com/f473LXTCOE

— ????????MiamiRed☭ (@MiamiRed4) November 4, 2021

Harris was initially arrested for allegedly intimidating a store associate with a knife near a smoke shop in Montrose, Texas. He was later charged with aggravated assault.

The Murderer is #MichaelOwnby 25 memorize this fucker’s face pic.twitter.com/1Ewhxa9RmC

— ????????MiamiRed☭ (@MiamiRed4) November 4, 2021

His bond was set for $20,000 on Oct. 12 and Harris had agreed to the stipulations for release a day later, but his family didn't come forward to pay the $2,000 bail for the teenager. Harris' mother said she wanted to wait and see the results of the court-ordered mental competency examination so she could petition to gain custody of her impaired son.

Harris County is the third-largest jail in the nation and is under constant scrutiny for dilapidated conditions. The Texas Rangers are now investigating how the jail conditions enabled the killing of Harris.

County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez posted a statement to Twitter concerning the death of Harris.

"I am deeply grieved by the murder of Fred Harris at the hands of another person held in our jail. His family has my sincere sympathy and commitment that we will work with prosecutors to hold his killer accountable. While Mr. Harris’ death is the subject of multiple ongoing independent investigations, every indication at this point is that staffing levels in the jail played no role in this crime," he wrote.

"It is true that our teammates working in the jail need more resources. I will continue working with Commissioners Court to address working conditions in a jail that remains seriously overcrowded," he continued.

In an unprovoked assault, Ownby busted Harris' head on the jail's concrete floor, kicked him and stabbed him with a sharpened eating utensil, according to court records. The medical examiner said Harris' death was caused by blunt force to the head and neck.

"This is heartbreaking. This is heartbreaking that he died alone, scared and had no one. He was just a 13-year-old kid trapped in a 19-year-old body," said Amy Mendez, whose son was friends with Harris, according to ABC 13.

She also remarked that he would often travel with his toy karaoke microphone.

Harris had no prior criminal infractions and had been living on the street after leaving Mendez's home in May.

Since Oct. 28, Ownby was in jail on charges of assaulting a public servant and had a warrant for allegedly intimidating his mother.

Kirk Oncken, the defense attorney for Harris, recently met the young man with the intent of "addressing his needs," and said he was enraged about the circumstances surrounding his client's death.

"I'm surprised that somebody, who was in custody, was in possession of something like that. It's pretty shocking, pretty scary that something like that could happen in the county jail," Oncken said.

Harris-County-Jail

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