SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An inmate serving a life sentence for child molesting was killed Wednesday at a Northern California state prison, correction officials said.
Deandre Austin, 46, was found unresponsive in his cell at 6:30 p.m. by officers at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, KPIX reported.
It is unclear how Austin died, KTLA reported.
According to officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Austin’s cellmate, 29-year-old Rodney Jordan, is considered the suspect in Austin’s death, the television station reported.
Austin was serving a life term after his 2008 conviction in Contra Costa County. He was sentenced with the possibility of parole for the continuous sexual assault of his three elementary school-aged nieces when they shared homes in Richmond between 2002 and 2006, KPIX reported. He was convicted of rape, lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under age 14, continuous sex abuse of a child under 14, penetration with a foreign object with a victim under 14 and oral copulation
Jordan is serving prison time after his conviction in Los Angeles County on burglary and robbery charges, KTLA reported.