California Inmate Deaths: Authorities Kick Off Probe In Second Cane-Beating Attack

Investigations are underway in the death of a convicted child molester who was fatally attacked with a walking cane at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran, California.

Authorities confirmed on Wednesday that Graham De Luis-Conti, who was convicted of child molestation, was struck in the head multiple times by fellow inmate Jonathan Watson, FOX News reported.

According to local authorities, De Luis-Conti passed away in a hospital on Sunday after sustaining multiple cane attacks to the head – a case similar to the previous incident Watson was involved in previously.

Aside from the beating of De Luis-Conti, Watson has also been accused of beating David Bobb to death. While De Luis-Conti was said to have reached the hospital and received treatment before his death, Bobb died while being transported to a medical facility.

Investigators have yet to discover a motive for the two killings. However, it is worth noting that the deceased inmates were charged of the same crime: aggravated assault against a child under 14.

Bobb has been serving his life sentence since October 2005 while De Luis-Conti was put behind bars in June 2001. Watson, on the other hand, has served a decade of his life sentence for discharging firearm and first-degree murder.

Inmate homicides have been increasing over the past few years in California. Earlier this month, a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation revealed that Lawrence Tate was suspected to have been killed by his cellmate, William Clay.

According to The Sacramento Bee, Tate died in a hospital after having been behind bars since 2001 for second degree murder. Clay, on the other hand, only entered the North Kern State Prison on December 6.

Less than a month earlier, Ruben Barela was found in his housing unit with multiple injuries on the face. Barela was brought to the hospital but later died.

Also in December, another inmate passed away from a serious neck injury. CBS Sacramento reported that California State Prison inmate Timothy Johnson was found with a bleeding neck and was transported to the hospital.

Johnson died at the hospital a few hours after he was found and Noel Mayorga was held as a suspect in the fatal stabbing on his fellow inmate. The motive for stabbing Johnson has yet to be revealed.

Experts believe the spike in inmate violence and deaths across California county jails and prisons may be linked to the state’s move of overwhelming smaller prisons. The said prison reform started in 2011.