By Mike Russell
(It looks like we may be able to add “murderer” to Joe Son’s resume below “kidnapper” and above “rapist.”)
A poster on mixedmartialarts.com’s Underground Forum revealed today that former UFC fighter and incarcerated kidnapper and rapist Joseph Hyungmin Son may have been involved in the murder of his cellmate in the California prison he currently is housed in and it appears that the story has some truth to it.
Here’s what the poster, SoCal PriznGard posted today:
“I am the first to break this news! Ex UFC fighter, Joe Son has murdered his cellmate. While serving a life sentence for gang rape, Joe Son has been attacked several times by other inmates who do not tolerate rapists in prison. It has not yet been determined why he killed his cellmate or how.
No troll. Fact: celly found dead. Joe and dead guy only ones in cell together. Guard doing count, sees celly is unresponsive, medical arrives. CPR performed. Celly has trauma to chest area. Pronounced dead. Innocent until proven guilty but looks like he did it. These are the only facts that I have right now. Investigation still in progress since it just happened on Monday around 5:00 pm.”
CagePotato.com spoke with a representative from the prison’s litigation department, after being passed on by Wasco’s public information officer this morning, and when asked whether or not Son was involved in said incident, we were told that a press release on the situation is forthcoming, likely later today — meaning that there is at least some truth to the rumor.
Here’s what we were told a few minutes ago:
“Right now I am working on a press release and I can’t get that information out until our headquarters puts a rubber stamp on it, so that’s where I’m at right now with it. That’s pretty much all I can tell you right now. They control when it’s released, but it may be released this afternoon, possibly.”
If there was no incident and Son was not involved, we would have been informed as much.
We’ll have more on the incident after we receive the press release this afternoon.
*UPDATE* THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE SENT OUT BY THE WASCO LITIGATION DEPARTMENT:
WASCO – Officials from Wasco State Prison-Reception Center (WSP-RC) and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide. The inmate, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin, was found dead in his cell about 5:50 p.m. October 10, 2011.
The 50-year-old inmate was received at WSP-RC from San Luis Obispo County on June 23, 2011, as a parole violator with a new term for failure to register as a sex offender. He received a 2-year sentence.
Joseph Son, 40, has been identified as a suspect in the case. Son was received at WSP-RC from Orange County on September 16, 2011, on a life sentence with the possibility of parole for torture.
The Office of the Inspector General’s Bureau of Independent Review was notified.
WSP-RC’s primary mission is to provide short-term housing while new inmates are processed to classify and evaluate new inmates, physically and mentally, and to determine their security level, program requirements and appropriate institutional placement. WSP-RC, which was opened in February 1991, houses approximately 5,800 inmates and employs approximately 1,700 people.