Death Row Inmate Found Dead At San Quentin

SAN QUENTIN, CA – A death row inmate who was convicted of killing an armored car guard in Southern California was found dead Wednesday at San Quentin State Prison.

Henry Abbott, 48, was found unresponsive at 3:23 p.m. in his cell and was pronounced dead at 4:09 p.m. at the prison in the unincorporated town of San Quentin in Marin County. An autopsy was pending to determine the cause of his death, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

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

Abbott shot Saenz in the back of the head as Saenz left the Bank of America in Ontario with a bag that contained $202,282, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He grabbed the bag and shot Saenz a total of three times before fleeing with accomplices. The bag 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, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1978, 74 condemned inmates have died from natural causes, 25 have committed suicide and 13 have been executed in California, while one was executed in Missouri and another one was executed in Virginia, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Another eight inmates have died from unspecified causes, while five deaths, including Abbott's, are unresolved.

There are currently 745 death row inmates in the state.

Photo via California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation