A man convicted as a teenager of killing another teen in 1996 at a now-closed southeast Missouri boarding school has died in prison.

Anthony Rutherford

Anthony Rutherford

37-year-old Anthony Rutherford and another then-teenager killed 16-year-old William Andrew Futrelle II of Boca Raton, Florida, while the three were out collecting firewood. Rutherford and his accomplice reportedly planned to steal guns and take over the school to get national attention, and killed Futrelle to keep him from revealing their plan.

Rutherford was pronounced dead yesterday at the state prison in Cameron where he was serving life without parole. The Corrections Department says foul play is not suspected in his death.

His accomplice in that murder, Joseph Burris, is serving life at the state prison in Jefferson City.

The school, Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy, closed in 2004 after years of criticism over its use of corporal punishment coupled with strict discipline and fundamentalist teachings in working with teens with behavioral problems.