California serial killer suspected of slaying cellmate

DELANO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a convicted serial killer is suspected of slaying his new cellmate at a central California prison. State prison officials say Ramon Escobar shared a cell at North Kern State Prison in Delano with Juan Villanueva, who died Friday morning. Villanueva was serving a life sentence for the aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 in Los Angeles County. He arrived in prison Feb. 2. Escobar was serving a life sentence after pleading guilty last year to killing five men and injuring seven others in 2018 in Southern California. Most of the victims were homeless. Prosecutors said Escobar had fled to California after murdering his aunt and uncle in Houston, Texas, in 2018.