KERN COUNTY, Calif. – A convicted serial killer who is incarcerated at a prison in central California is believed to be responsible for murdering his new cellmate. According to a statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Ramon Escobar is suspected of killing Juan Villanueva, whose death on Friday was ruled a homicide.
Escobar, 51, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty last year to killing five men and injuring seven others in Los Angeles County. He shared a cell at North Kern State Prison in Delano with Juan Villanueva, whose death is being investigated as a homicide, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
Villanueva, 53, was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after being found guilty for the aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 in Los Angeles County.
On Friday, just before 9 a.m., Villanueva was found unresponsive. Despite lifesaving efforts, he was pronounced dead a short time later at a prison treatment facility, according to CDCR.
Although details of the homicide were not provided, and a specific cause of death is pending, Escobar is suspected of murder. As a result, he has been reassigned to restricted housing during the course of the investigation, the corrections department said.
Beyond the murders committed by Escobar in Los Angeles County, he also pleaded guilty to killing his aunt and uncle in Houston, Texas, in 2018.
According to prosecutors, Escobar fled Texas after murdering his relatives and was homeless in California when he began bludgeoning victims with bolt cutters and a baseball bat as they slept on the streets and beaches in Los Angeles and Santa Monica over the course of about two weeks in September 2018, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
Escobar has been incarcerated at North Kern State Prison since December. Officials said Villanueva arrived on Feb. 2. Both inmates were housed in the Reception Center, which processes prisoners admitted from counties throughout California.
According to CDCR, newly arriving inmates can be held there for up to 90 days while it is determined where they should be permanently situated within the state prison system.
