Travis
Fulton, who amassed more than 300 fights during his mixed
martial arts career, was found dead on Saturday morning at Linn
County Jail in Iowa.
According to a release from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office,
Fulton is believed to have committed suicide by hanging himself.
Fulton, 44, was discovered by staff members in his cell block
around 4 a.m. local time and was transported to Mercy Medical
Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5 a.m.
Fulton was
indicted in February by a federal grand jury on charges of
sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child porn and
receipt of child porn. According to court records, Fulton allegedly
attempted to engage a minor in sexual conduct with hopes of taking
photos of the encounter this past November. Additionally, Fulton is
accused of possessing a flash drive with pornographic images of a
child under 12 years of age between November 2018 and November
2020.
According to a report from
The Gazette, Fulton on Friday agreed to plead guilty to two of
the four charges: one of the exploitation charges and possession of
child porn. He was scheduled for a plea hearing on July 23.
According to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Fulton’s death is
still under investigation, and an autopsy will be conducted by the
state medical examiner. The Sheriff’s Office will not release
details regarding how the hanging occurred for safety and security
reasons.
Fulton has amassed a prolific record of 255-54-10 with one no
contest over the course of a professional MMA career that began in
1996. The Parkersburg, West Virginia, resident last fought on April
4, 2019, defeating Shannon
Ritch via forearm choke in the second round. During his
fighting tenure, Fulton has squared off against the likes of
Andrei
Arlovski, Jeff Monson,
Ricco
Rodriguez, Ben
Rothwell, Joe Riggs,
Jeremy
Horn, Forrest
Griffin, Dan Severn,
Rich
Franklin, Evan Tanner,
Heath
Herring and Renato
Sobral, to name a few.
Update: The inmate is identified as Travis
Jon Fulton (age 44) of Parkersburg, IA. Fulton had been in custody
since February 19, 2021. He was being confined as a hold for the US
Marshal’s Service. https://t.co/bDpbDYvyyn— LinnCountySheriff (@LinnIASheriff)
July 11, 2021