Blose, 40, of Coaldale, PA (Credit: Mark Minzola/Montgomery County DA)
Nathan David Blose, of Schuylkill County, allegedly killed Shaun Harden on Nov. 1, 2024
At arraignment in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Tuesday, a state prisoner entered not guilty pleas to first- and third-degree murder charges for allegedly killing his sex offender cellmate on Nov. 1, 2024.
Nathan David Blose, 40, of Coaldale, Schuylkill County, allegedly killed Shaun Harden between the hours of 7:37 p.m. Oct. 31 and 5:55 a.m. Nov. 1 at the Skippack Township state prison, according to charging documents.
According to Main Line Times & Suburban, Blose offered condolences to the Harden family.
Harden was serving a 4-to-10-year sentence for aggravated indecent assault of a child on a Greene County conviction. He arrived at SCI Phoenix on Halloween.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office determined Harden’s cause of death as multiple injuries, and the manner of death was homicide, investigators said in a Nov. 12 affidavit.
Harden suffered hemorrhaging to his neck – he was found by authorities with blood on his face and neck, blood in his mouth, a laceration behind his ear, and red marks on his neck – and hemorrhaging to his right chest and left back, according to the affidavit.
Per the Main Line Times & Suburban, Blose will be housed at Montgomery County jail in Lower Providence for a month to meet with lawyers for his upcoming trial. Then, he will be returned to SCI Benner in Centre County, PA, where he is serving up to 10 years on illegal gun charges, per the report.
Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
Authorities allege that Blose was returned to his cell at 4:17 p.m. Oct. 31, and remained there, as seen on video surveillance,. At 7:37 p.m., Harden was escorted to the cell and went inside. No one else left or visited the cell, police said.
Corrections officers opened the cell door at 5:55 a.m. Nov. 1, finding Harden dead, according to the complaint.
Prison staff immediately responded and provided life-saving measures until the facility medical personnel arrived. Harden was pronounced dead at 6:29 a.m., authorities said.
Prison authorities contacted State Police, informing them that the victim had a cellmate, identified as Blose, police said.
The cell was located in the “A” block of the prison and was secured as a crime scene, authorities said. A puddle of blood was on the floor of the cell.
During an interview, Blose confirmed that Harden was his cellmate, and that they both were in the cell alone from 8:30 p.m. to 5:55 a.m., police said.
There is no bail for first-degree murder.
Blose is represented by a public defender. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Gabriella Glenning.
According to court records, Blose was found guilty by trial of felony illegal possession of a firearm and felony carrying a gun without a license and misdemeanor assault in Schuylkill County on a Coledale Township arrest and was sentenced concurrently to five to 10 years in prison.
Furthermore, Main Line Times & Suburban reports that Blose attempted to violently assault another inmate at SCI Phoenix days prior to the killing of Harden. Harden has a preliminary hearing set for April 7 before Magisterial District Judge Adam T. Katzman on charges of attempted murder, strangulation and assault, per court records.
In the attempted murder incident, authorities allege that on Oct. 30, 2024, Blose and the victim were in a cell together, with the victim sitting at a desk. Blose allegedly came up behind the victim and put him in a chokehold. The victim lost consciousness and woke up on the floor, according to the report, with Blose still choking him out.
The victim was able to pull Blose’s arm away and ask him to stop. Blose allegedly told the victim to keep his mouth shut or he would break his neck, before releasing him and threatening to kill him if he told anyone.
Blose was sentenced to two years in Carbon County jail for pleading guilty to a Nesquehoning Borough assault in 2020.
It is the second death at the state prison this year. Dwight Williams, authorities allege, stomped Ashokkumar Guru to death in August.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
