Coroner Says Inmate Was Strangled; Cellmate Faces Murder Charge

SAN DIEGO, CA — A prisoner allegedly killed by his cellmate over the weekend at the San Diego Central Jail was strangled, the coroner said Wednesday.

After conducting an autopsy, the Medical Examiner's Office announced that as the preliminary cause of death in the Aug. 22 incident at the Front Street detention center.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is not releasing the victim's name until his family can be notified.

Meanwhile, the alleged assailant is expected to face a murder charge in the case, authorities reported.

Deputies staffing the jail found the victim unresponsive and suffering from traumatic injuries in his cell shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday, according to sheriff's officials. Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

Homicide detectives questioned the victim's cellmate, 32-year-old Steven Young, then arrested him on suspicion of murder, Lt. Thomas Seiver said.

Young, who initially had been jailed for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender and violating parole, was being held without bail pending arraignment on the murder charge, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

— City News Service