Convicted murderer’s death in state prison is investigated as a homicide

A California prisoner serving a life sentence for murder died Friday after he was found injured in a cell he shared with another convicted killer, authorities said.

Abraham Morales, 37, was found unresponsive in the Kern Valley State Prison cell he shared with Charles Ramirez, 44, prison officials said.

He was pronounced dead within the hour.

The death is being investigated as a homicide, and Ramirez has been removed from the scene, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.

Morales was sent to prison in 2010 and was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He was convicted in Ventura County of first-degree murder with the intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death.

Ramirez was imprisoned in 2014 after his Orange County conviction for first-degree murder with the intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death. He is serving a life sentence, but with the possibility of parole. He was sentenced in August to an additional seven years for assault with a deadly weapon inside the prison, authorities said.