DELANO, Calif. (KERO) — The Kern County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of an inmate at North Kern State Prison as a homicide, according to a release by the law enforcement agency.
The sheriff's office reports that 45-year-old Ariel Barragan Torres was found unresponsive in his cell at about 9:41 pm on February 8, 2023. Prison personnel took Torres to the prison's triage facility where he was pronounced dead, according to law enforcement.
KCSO confirmed that the coroner's office performed an autopsy and determined Torres' death to be homicide by strangulation. No further information has been made available at this time.
