In just a few hours one morning last January, Michael Ferrara Jr. was to walk out the Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe a free man. He had served four years on a credit-card theft conviction. He never made it through the gate alive.

As the 34-year-old waited to be taken from his cell to Cuyahoga County on Jan. 11 for final instructions at his release, the former South Euclid man was strangled.

Logan Murphy, 21, a Stark County burglar placed in Ferrara's cell the day before, was found hunched over the body.

Murphy told police he was ordered in a dream to kill Ferrara. The messenger, he said, was a Hell's Angel named Mitch. Murphy is charged with aggravated homicide. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

A prison guard failed to make mandated 30-minute checks on the cell for about a two-hour stretch before Ferrara was found dead. That day, the guard went home and killed himself.

Michael Ferrara Sr., of South Euclid, who admits his son lived a troubled life with a history of drug abuse and mental problems, has questions about his death. And Ferrera is not getting any answers.

Why was Murphy, who has a history of violent behavior, placed in the cell so close to his son's release, the father wants to know.

"No one has been able to answer the question," the elder Ferrara said. "Also, we wonder why the guards did not check my son's cell for hours. And it's very strange that the guard killed himself just hours after finding my son murdered."

Prison officials confirm that Corrections Officer Jesse Creamer took his own life.

But, they said they are not investigating Creamer's death since "it occurred outside of work hours and off the grounds of the facility."

They said they see no connection between the suicide and Ferrara's death.

Officials said Creamer, a guard at Ross since 2000 with a clean discipline record, failed to check on Ferrara for almost two hours. Ross County Sheriff's Office Detective Sgt. Michael Preston said Creamer shot himself in the head while sitting in his truck outside his home.

"There was a note to his girlfriend and kids, but it did not indicate why he killed himself," said Preston. "Nothing was found in our investigation that indicated the suicide and the death of the inmate are related. The only one who knows why he killed himself is Creamer."

Ferrara's father said, "I don't think he killed himself over my son's death, but I believe it was part of the series of events that led to the suicide. I've learned Creamer was having relationship problems. Maybe he realized he would get fired over my son's death, so maybe all those things -- and whatever else was going on in his life -- were just too much for him."

More troubling to the father, though, is how Murphy ended up in the same cell as his son.

Ferrara Jr. was in protective custody in the prison because he had been intimidated by the other inmates, his father said. The prisoner was a thin, frail man.

"Logan was trouble. I requested his file from the prison and saw this," Ferrara Sr. said, then displayed paperwork. "He assaulted a corrections officer and was banging his head against the cell door before they moved him in with Michael. I want to know who authorized putting a violent man in the cell with my son.

"The prison said they try to mix men by age or type," he continued. "But if my son was in custody for protection, I again ask why put a violent man with him?"

The State Highway Patrol is handling the investigation into the killing.

Lt. Anne Ralston, a patrol spokeswoman, declined to say whether the investigation is examining the reason for moving Murphy.

The patrol did conduct a "dereliction of duty" investigation over Creamer's failure to make the cell checks. That report ends with: "No further action will be taken due to [words blacked out]. Case closed."

Ralston said the patrol is not investigating Creamer's suicide. She would not discuss the murder investigation.

Prison officials said no one has been reprimanded for putting Murphy in the cell with Ferrara, nor has anyone been reprimanded for the missed cell checks.

The younger Ferrara was in prison for a using a stolen credit card.

Court records confirm he pleaded guilty to burglary in 2008 and that he had a series of criminal convictions for prior burglaries.

"He was a guest at someone's house in Walton Hills, and he clipped a credit card," his father said. "He put $100 on it and was caught. It was not the first time he had been arrested. He'd done similar things because of his drug problem."

Ferrara Jr. went before the Cuyahoga County Mental Health Court and was sentenced by Judge John Sutula to four years in prison. He was shifted around the prison system until winding up in Chillicothe.

"He complained that he was not getting any help for his mental issues," his father said. Ferrara was due to be released from the prison system on Jan. 13. On Jan. 11, he was supposed to be picked up by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office and brought to Cleveland to discuss the terms of his probation.

Deputies arrived at 8 that morning and were told Ferrara was found strangled at 4:50 a.m., as evidenced by Creamer and backed up by a prison camera system that worked sporadically.

Ferrara Sr. said he intended to bring his son home after his release and help him get his life together.

He said his son was excited about getting out of jail. "He said he learned his lesson and that he would not go back," Ferrara said.

"He wanted to go to the Music Settlement at Case and take voice lessons. He loved to sing, and he thought he could make something of that. He also loved to cook. He was done with drugs and he was anxious to start a new life."

Ferrara, who is retired after being a part owner of men's clothing store, said he planned on getting his son a job.

"He had a high IQ, but had dyslexia," he said. "He was a great debater. He also liked cocaine, which made him stumble over his own feet."

Ferrara said his son manipulated people, which did not make him popular in prison.

"At one point he accused two other inmates of sexually abusing him," Ferrara said. "It meant he got out of general population and into protective custody for a while. He eventually admitted he lied, but he had gotten his way by then. That's how Mike operated.

"When Michael was pressed or bullied, he would go to the authorities," he said. "He was not a fighter. Gangs would gang up on him. They always go after the weaker inmate. He said the prison gangs 'The Heartless Felons' and 'The Family,' asked him for money all the time."

Ferrara said he plans to sue the prison system for his son's death, but is waiting for Murphy's criminal trial to be completed.

He is also waiting for answers to questions that he fears will never come.