A California prisoner beheaded and dismembered his cellmate without guards ever noticing, a new report claims. The two guards in question are said to have recorded the victim, Luis Romero, as “alive” during a safety check when in reality, he was in the process of being brutally murdered by Jaime Osuna. It was called the most “heinous” killing recorded in King’s County, so how is it that prison authorities had no idea it was happening?
- Osuna was known to be a danger to his fellow prisoners. Osuna, 31, allegedly had a history of being violent with his cellmates and had previously been held alone until Romero was assigned to the cell after being transferred from Jaime Osuna, the Los Angeles Times reports. He only survived for two days.
- He used a makeshift knife to attack Romero. According to a report, he cut out Romero’s eyes an ear, and his lungs before beheading him. The whole process allegedly took hours, making it even more unbelievable that guards never noticed anything was amiss. It’s clear that safety checks were not regularly or thoroughly conducted. Guards later found Osuna wearing a necklace made of Romero’s body parts and posed the victim’s body after slicing his mouth to resemble an extended smile.
- Now, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is under fire. Not only are they being criticized for not properly investigating the murder and delaying disciplinary action against the guards, but the slaying also called into question many of the other murders that occurred inside the prison system. It seems proper procedures were not followed and there are serious safety hazards to those serving sentences in the California penal system.
- Romero’s life could have been saved. Romero’s family claims there was a white sheet over the cell bars. If true, this makes it even more obvious that proper safety checks were not carried out. The Department of Corrections disputes this claim and insists that it conducted a “thorough and complete investigation from the very beginning,” though the victim’s family doesn’t agree. “The idea that my client had to sue in order to get basic questions answered about her son’s death is disheartening,” said Justin Sterling, the attorney for the Romero family. According to Romero, had the guards completed their semi-regular checks of the cells, Romero would still have been alive since Osuna’s crime took hours.
- Osuna is currently serving a life sentence. He was convicted for the 2011 killing and torture of Yvette Pena at a hotel in Bakersfield. During his trial, he mocked the victim’s family and bragged to local news media that he loved torturing people.
