LOS ANGELES — A California inmate serving a life sentence for the murders of seven folks is suspected of killing his cellmate in a Kern County prison Friday, the state corrections division mentioned.
Juan Villanueva, 53, was discovered unresponsive round 8:50 a.m. in the cell he shared with Ramon Escobar at North Kern State Prison, the California Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation mentioned in a assertion.
Villanueva was pronounced lifeless a quick time later.
The case is being investigated as a murder and Escobar, 51, is the suspect, the division mentioned. A reason for loss of life can be decided by the medical expert’s workplace.
Escobar is serving life in prison with out the potential of parole after being convicted of 5 counts of homicide. He pleaded responsible to a lot of the fees and no contest to the fifth in 2022, based on court docket data.
A number of of the victims have been homeless and have been crushed to loss of life, officers have mentioned. He beat and robbed different victims as nicely, prosecutors mentioned at the time. Among the victims have been attacked as they slept, and Escobar used a bat or blunt object.
Escobar, who is initially from Texas, additionally pleaded responsible to homicide in the deaths of his uncle and aunt in that state, NBC affiliate KPRC of Houston reported at the time.
Villanueva was serving a sentence of life with parole for aggravated sexual assault of a youngster beneath 14 years outdated, the Corrections Division mentioned.
He was sentenced in 2022 and transferred to the division’s custody on Feb. 2.
