San Quentin death row inmate found dead in cell

A guard stands at the entrance to the California State Prison at San Quentin January 22, 2007 in San Quentin, California.
A guard stands at the entrance to the California State Prison at San Quentin January 22, 2007 in San Quentin, California. Photo credit Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

An inmate on death row at San Quentin State Prison has been found dead in his cell.

Prison officials said guards found 74-year-old Richard Benson unresponsive around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday. Officials with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division will investigate are working to determine the cause of death but said foul play is not suspected.

Benson did not have a cellmate.

Benson was sentenced to death in 1987 for murdering a woman and her three children in San Luis Obispo County.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images