Richmond Killer Among 2 Inmates Found Dead In Cells At NorCal Prison

CORCORAN (CBS SF) -- Two convicted murderers were found dead in their cells within hours of each other at a Northern California prison, one murdered by his cellmate, corrections officials said.

Ronald Bell, 69, was found unresponsive in his cell at California State Prison-Corcoran on Friday evening. Emergency lifesaving measures were started immediately, but Bell was pronounced dead at 7:04 p.m.

Officials said Bell's cause of death has yet to be determined.

Bell was sentenced to death in Contra Costa County on March 2, 1979, for the first-degree murder of a jewelry store worker in Richmond during a robbery of more than $30,000 in jewelry. Bell had been on California's death row since June 6, 1984 and lost an appeal when he claimed his brother, Larry Bell, was the real gunman.

The morning after Bell was found dead in his cell, an unidentified 44-year-old inmate was found dead in his cell during security checks. He was serving a life-with-parole sentence after being convicted in Los Angeles County of second-degree murder with the use of a firearm.

His cellmate, 31-year-old Jaime Osuna, was identified as the suspect and was placed in solitary confinement.

Osuna is a serving life sentence for the 2011 killing and torture of a Bakersfield woman whose body was found in a motel room. He pleaded guilty to murder to avoid the death penalty.

Since 1978, when California reinstated capital punishment, 79 condemned inmates have died from natural causes, 26 have committed suicide, 13 have been executed in California, one was executed in Missouri, one was executed in Virginia, 11 have died from other causes and four – including Bell – are pending a cause of death.

There are currently 737 offenders on California's death row.