An autopsy is expected to be performed this week on a prison inmate allegedly killed by his cellmate, an “Austin Powers” actor convicted of torturing a woman in Orange County.
Joseph Hyungmin Son, 40, allegedly killed his 50-year-old cell mate, who was found dead Monday afternoon at Wasco State Prison Reception Center in Kern County.
The cell mate was a parole violator who had been sentenced to two years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender, according to a prison report. A cause of death was pending.
Prison officials have named Son as the suspect, but officials said charges against him will await the completion of the investigation.
A spokesman for the Kern County coroner’s office told the Associated Press that an autopsy on the unidentified victim could occur as early as Wednesday. Kern County prosecutors have not begun reviewing the case.
Son, who played henchman Random Task in “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” was also briefly a mixed martial arts fighter who used the name Joe Son.He had arrived at the prison reception center Sept. 16 after having been convicted of torture and sentenced to life in prison without parole in connection with the 1990 Christmas Eve rape of a woman who was walking her dog.
– Sam Quinones, LA Times
