Pelican Bay State Prison Death of Incarcerated Man Investigated as Homicide
CRESCENT CITY — California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the death of an incarcerated person at Pelican Bay State Prison as a homicide, the department announced on October 4.
On October 4, 2026, at approximately 8:24 a.m., correctional staff observed incarcerated person Jose Zapian attack incarcerated person Javier Torres in the lower yard. Responding staff immediately intervened and quelled the attack. Staff activated 911 and initiated life-saving measures. An improvised weapon was recovered at the scene.
Torres was transported to a higher-level medical facility, where he was pronounced deceased at 9:25 a.m. by a medical doctor. Zapian was placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the prison's Investigative Services Unit and the Del Norte County District Attorney's Office. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
Torres, 47, was most recently received from Los Angeles County on February 14, 2005, and was serving a sentence of life with parole for attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer/firefighter. Zapian, 37, was most recently received from Los Angeles County on January 17, 2014, and was serving life without parole for first-degree murder.
Pelican Bay State Prison houses minimum-, medium- and maximum-security incarcerated men. The institution opened in 1989 on 275 acres near Crescent City, 13 miles from the Oregon-California border. It houses more than 2,100 incarcerated people and employs about 1,400 staff.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：鹈鹕湾州立监狱航拍（资料图，Jelson25摄，CC BY 3.0，Wikimedia Commons）。Aerial view of Pelican Bay State Prison (file photo by Jelson25, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
