Man Convicted of Murders in Los Angeles, Santa Monica Charged With Killing Cellmate

Ramon Alberto Escobar, who killed several people in Texas and in Los Angeles and Santa Monica in California was charged with murdering his cellmate at Kern County prison in Bakersfield, Calif., authorities said on Sept. 18, 2023. Courtesy of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

LOS ANGELES—A serial killer who pleaded guilty last year to a crime spree in Los Angeles and Santa Monica that left five men dead and seven others injured, along with the killings of his aunt and uncle in Texas, has been charged with murdering his cellmate in a Kern County prison, authorities announced on Sept. 18.

Ramon Alberto Escobar is set to be arraigned Sept. 20 in connection with the Feb. 24 strangulation of Juan Villanueva at North Kern State Prison, according to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.