James "Whitey" Bulger Jr., a cold-blooded mobster who was found dead in a West Virginia prison cell six months ago, died of "blunt force injuries of the head," according to a death certificate obtained Thursday by an NBC affiliate in Boston.
The document states the 89-year-old was assaulted inside his cell, where he was found shortly after 8 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2018. The manner of death was homicide, according to the document.
Although the document provides the first official word on how Bulger died, law enforcement officials previously said his killers struck him with a padlock stuffed inside a sock and then wrapped him in a blanket to try to conceal the attack.
Bulger lived as a fugitive for 16 years and even topped FBI's most-wanted list before he was found living near in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011. He was convicted two years later and was serving a life sentence for 11 murders, extortion and racketeering schemes that authorities said earned him more than $25 million.
The Irish American crime boss had been transferred to the high-security United States Penitentiary, Hazelton just a day before he was killed.
No one has been charged in his death, but a potential suspect is Fotios "Freddy" Geas, a Massachusetts hitman who reportedly hates "rats."
Bulger had a long and corrupt relationship with FBI agents before becoming a fugitive, often feeding them tips on other criminals.
His longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, is also behind bars for helping Bulger.
