NATCHEZ — A former Waterproof and Concordia Parish man serving a life sentence in a Georgia prison for murdering his mother and her boyfriend died Tuesday after reportedly starting a fire in his cell.

Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gwendolyn Hogan confirmed Wednesday the death of Cody Lee Vestal at Valdosta State Prison in Valdosta, Ga.

“(It) appears that Vestal along with another inmate started a fire in their cell,” Hogan wrote in an email.

Hogan declined to provide further detail about the nature of Vestal’s death, saying only the incident is under investigation.

Vestal was arrested in a Tennessee hospital in March 2015 following the discovery of the bodies of Vestal’s mother, Marilyn Laughlin, 60, and her boyfriend, Anthony Poat, 52, in rural Georgia. The victims appeared to have been shot, law enforcement officials said at the time.

The victims were found at a residence in Union County, Ga., after the Dayton, Tenn., Police Department contacted the Union County Sheriff’s Office. The Dayton police were following up a call from the Rhea Medical Center in Dayton after Vestal was admitted there for treatment.

Vestal began serving a sentence of life without parole for murder in October 2015.