California death row inmate who hired man to kill his pregnant wife dies at 76

A California death row inmate convicted in the killings of his pregnant wife and her unborn child has died while incarcerated, according to state prison officials.

Jerry T. Bunyard died July 10 at an outside medical facility after being transferred from California State Prison, Sacramento, where he was housed on death row. He was 76 years old.

Medical staff pronounced Bunyard dead at 4:44 p.m. The Sacramento County Coroner's Office will determine his official cause of death, CDCR said.

Bunyard had been incarcerated since Feb. 2, 1981, after being sentenced to death in San Joaquin County for first-degree murder.

According to court records, Bunyard was convicted in the 1979 killing of his wife, Elaine Bunyard, who was nine months pregnant, and her unborn daughter in San Joaquin County. Prosecutors said Bunyard hired another man to kill his wife and stage the death as a suicide after she refused his divorce terms and because he claimed the unborn child was not his.

According to the CDCR, there are currently 567 condemned inmates in California. The state has not executed an inmate since 2006.