The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says that a suspected homicide occurred at North Kern State Prison on Friday, in which an inmate serving a life sentence for seven murders, Ramon Escobar, is believed to have killed his cellmate, Juan Villanueva.
Villanueva was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead. The medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death — the case is currently under investigation as a homicide, officials said in a statement.
Escobar is already serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for five counts of murder, including beating and robbing some victims and attacking others as they slept with a bat or blunt object. He also previously pleaded guilty to the murder of his uncle and aunt in Texas.
Villanueva was serving a life sentence with parole for the aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years old.
