December 20, 2021 - DELANO – Officials at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the Friday, December 17 death of incarcerated person Abraham Morales, 37, as a homicide.

At 6:14 a.m., Morales was found unresponsive in the cell he shared with Charles Ramirez, 44, during a routine security check.

An emergency medical alert was immediately issued and Ramirez was removed from the scene. Medical staff and emergency services quickly responded and attempted life-saving measures on Morales.

Morales was taken to the institution’s Treatment and Triage Area for medical treatment; however, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at 6:55 a.m.

Morales was admitted from Ventura County on June 8, 2010, and sentenced to serve life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder with the intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death. He had two enhancements for prior felony convictions of a serious offense.

Ramirez was admitted from Orange County on Feb. 12, 2014, to serve life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder with the intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death. On Aug. 5, 2021, he was sentenced in Kern County to an additional seven years for assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to cause great bodily injury, an in-prison offense.

The Kern County Coroner’s Office will determine the official cause of death. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified.

KVSP opened in 2005 and houses 3,367 minimum-, medium-, and high-security custody inmates. KVSP offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,511 people. For more information, visit www.cdcr.ca.gov.


(Left) Abraham Morales - (Right) Charles Ramirez                   
Source: CDCR