Death Row Inmate Tied To Brutal I.E. Killing Found Dead In Cell

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — A San Quentin State Prison death row inmate who was convicting of killing an armored car guard in the Inland Empire was found dead in his cell this week, prison officials said. Henry Abbott, 48, was found unresponsive at 3:23 p.m. Wednesday in his single-person cell and was pronounced dead at 4:09 p.m., the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

"Lifesaving measures were initiated, but Abbott passed away," the CDCR said in a news release. "The cause of death is unknown pending the results of an autopsy."

Abbott was convicted of the first-degree murder and robbery of Brinks armored car guard Samuel Saenz on Oct. 30, 2000. A San Bernardino County jury sentenced Abbott to death on Feb. 17, 2006.

The crime was described as an "execution-style" killing.

"Saenz had exited the Ontario branch of Bank of America transporting a large white bag to the armored vehicle," the CDCR said of the case. "Abbott walked up behind Saenz and fired two shots to the back of his head, knocking him down. After grabbing the bag, Abbott then walked over and fired a fatal execution-style shot to the back of the victim’s head before fleeing with his accomplices."

The man got away with $202,282.90 which was never found.

Abbott surrendered to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Nov. 15, 2000 and has been on death row since Feb. 22, 2006, the CDCR said.

"Since 1978, when California reinstated capital punishment, 74 condemned inmates have died from natural causes, 25 have committed suicide, 13 have been executed in California, one was executed in Missouri, one was executed in Virginia, eight have died from other causes, and five (including Abbott) causes of death are pending. There are currently 745 offenders on California’s death row," according to the CDCR.

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— Image via CDCR / Bay City News Service contributed to this report