Killer From Riverside County Dies On Death Row

SAN QUENTIN, CA — A Riverside County man on death row — convicted of murdering his female roommate and a prison inmate — has died, authorities announced Friday.

Forty-year-old Juan Inzunza, who was serving a condemned sentence at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, died Thursday while receiving care at an outside medical facility, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Inzunza was found unresponsive in his cell at 9:46 p.m. Thursday and was transferred to an outside hospital for care. He died about 90 minutes later, according to CDCR.

Inzunza was housed in a single cell at San Quentin and there were no obvious signs of trauma, the state agency said.

The Marin County coroner will determine Inzunza's cause of death.

On May 11, 2018, Inzunza was sentenced to 30 years to life in state prison after being convicted of murder in the death of his roommate, 56-year-old Victoria Supola.

Inzunza beat and strangled Supola at her Thousand Palms home, leaving her with traumatic injuries. She was found lying halfway out of her trailer at 73742 Pacheta Square on the morning of June 3, 2014.

Supola was taken to Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, where she died within hours.

Supola suffered numerous injuries, but a ruptured renal artery caused by blunt-force blows was determined as the cause of death, according to Deputy District Attorney Jacob Silva.

During Inzunza's trial, the prosecutor told jurors that Supola had "intense red marks around her throat from ear to ear" consistent with strangulation.

The victim told a neighbor who found her, as well as firefighters and paramedics, that "Juan did this," Silva said during the trial.

Inzunza had been renting out a room at the trailer for several weeks prior to her death. He was arrested eight days after the grim discovery.

In addition to murder, jurors also found Inzunza guilty of a misdemeanor assault count for striking Pierce. Inzunza also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest shortly before the trial started.

The violence continued while Inzunza was incarcerated, according to CDCR.

On July 28, 2023, he was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder of an inmate in 2021 at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe. He was subsequently transferred to SQRC.