Man Serving Time For Shasta County Triple Murder Found Dead In Cell

IONE (CBS13) - A convicted murderer was found dead in his cell at Mule Creek State Prison on Tuesday morning.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says 36-year-old Joshua McCormick was found unresponsive in his cell around 6:30 a.m. McCormick was soon pronounced dead an hour later.

Prison officials suspect McCormick's cellmate, 35-year-old Brandon Dean, in Joshua's death.

Both Dean and McCormick were serving time on for convictions of first-degree murder. Dean was serving 26 years to life for a murder case out of San Bernardino County, while McCormick was serving 150 years to life for a triple murder case out of Shasta County.

Dean has been placed in a segregation unit while the incident is being investigated.