Rudolpho Sutton’s thoughts are mired in a simple, but painful question about his father’s death: What happened?

On April 8, about a week after the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced its first prisoner had tested positive for the coronavirus, Rudolph Sutton was found unresponsive inside his cell at SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County, the state prison where he was serving a life sentence for a murder advocates say he likely did not commit.

A county coroner later determined the 67-year-old died from pneumonia caused by COVID-19, a revelation that made him the first — and currently the only — state prisoner to die from the virus.

Rudolpho Sutton, 37, wants to know whether that dubious distinction was avoidable — if prison officials did everything they could to try to keep his father alive.

“I’m not getting any answers,” he said.

Rudolph Sutton’s health started to decline in early March, and he spent 10 days in the hospital. His son still doesn’t know why, but he knows his father’s health grew worse after returning to SCI Phoenix.

He said his father, who had high blood pressure and liver problems, had difficulty breathing, often pausing between sentences when the two talked on the phone.

His sense of smell was off too, and he had trouble tasting his food, he said.

A video chat session in late March made it clear to Rudolpho Sutton just how sick his father had become. A man who excelled at martial arts was now in a wheelchair, a face mask dangling around his neck.

“I have plenty of pictures from our time together and he looked nothing like that,” said Rudolpho Sutton.

Their last conversation was on April 6.