The man suspected in the death of Carl Moyle, who was killed Tuesday in the Sherburne County jail, Bruce Christenson, 28, was at the jail awaiting a court appearance on a charge that he assaulted a fellow inmate with a razor at St. Cloud prison.

According to a criminal complaint, guards saw Christenson attack another inmate in the serving line of the prison's dining room on April 18. The victim ended up on the floor, bleeding from a deep, six-inch-long cut on his neck, and on the floor guards found a disposable shaving razor that had been broken so that the metal blade was exposed.

The complaint said that when guards reached the scene, Christenson was "delivering kicks to the [victim's] head and neck." The complaint did not say what, if anything, provoked the attack.

Christenson was charged with second-degree assault and potentially faced an additional seven years in prison.

Anderson said that with no known reason to put the suspect in isolation, he was placed in the general population, in a pod of 15 cells where Carl Moyle was.

There also were no red flags at the jail in the hours leading up to the assault, Anderson said. Even two minutes before Moyle was beaten, the suspect seemed normal to guards, the sheriff said.

Byron Moyle said he and his family were told by Anderson that the suspect was seen holding his head in his hands in his cell just before the beating.

Seconds later, the suspect, who was in a cell designed to be handicapped accessible, apparently stood on a commode and kicked a metal bar loose from the wall, Anderson said. The inmate hid the bar in his pants as he walked to the cell where Carl Moyle was lying on his top bunk, his face to the wall.

Drawing the bar from his pants, he used it to repeatedly beat Moyle's skull about 9:20 p.m., Anderson said.

Deputies saw the commotion on camera and were there within minutes, Anderson said.

Moyle was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he died about an hour later.

Investigators haven't been able to find any signs that Moyle and the suspect had any interaction, Anderson said.

"Everybody did what they were to do," Anderson said. He said this was the first homicide in the jail in his 12 years as sheriff.

Christenson's criminal history includes convictions for second-degree burglary, escape and first-degree aggravated armed robbery. He had been held in segregation in Oak Park Heights and had been returned to segregation.

His father, Rodney Christenson, said that Bruce had been in and out of jail for most of his life. He said his son recently wrote him a letter in which Bruce said he was looking forward to being integrated with the general population.

Rodney Christenson knew nothing about the most recent allegations against his son when reached on his cell phone Wednesday, but said that Bruce had planned to represent himself in some coming litigation.

For Moyle and his family, the days events were unanticipated and tragic.

Carl Moyle didn't have a reliable way to get to his new job detailing cars for a dealership, so his younger brother offered up his truck.