Warning: This story contains graphic content.
A prisoner at Corcoran State Prison in California has been charged with murdering and dismembering his cellmate.
Jaime Osuna, 31, allegedly decapitated his 44-year-old cellmate, Luis Romero, on March 9. According to Kings County Assistant District Attorney Phil Esbenshade, Osuna severed Romero’s fingers, removed an eye, and mutilated part of his lung before decapitating him.
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The charges allege Osuna repeatedly cut Romero to cause extreme pain for a sadistic purpose.
Esbenshade believes the victim was alive for at least a portion of the torture, although how long he remained conscious for is unclear. It’s been reported that Romero bled to death and was discovered by prison security during a morning check.
“This is the most gruesome case that I have seen in terms of heinousness in the slaying,” Esbenshade said.
The NY Daily News reported that the weapon identified inside the cell appeared to have been fashioned from a type of razor that may have been issued to Osuna.
Osuna began serving a life sentence without parole in May 2017 for the brutal murder of Yvette Pena in 2011.
During his 2017 trial for Pena’s murder, Osuna frequently mocked the victim’s family and smiled throughout court proceedings.
He pleaded not guilty to four felony charges this week, including torture, mayhem, weapons possession and murder with four special allegations.
If found guilty, Osuna’s prior conviction makes him eligible for the death penalty.
An internal investigation into how the murder occurred without the attention of guards is now underway.
According to the NY Daily News, Esbenshade said: “At this point, we intend to prosecute him pursuant to the complaint, put it in front of a jury.
"At this point we don’t intend to make any offers or deals.”
Romero had been serving a life sentence for murder since 1992, but with the possibility for parole.
Newshub.
