California Prisoner Found Missing Organs and Stuffed in Trash Can

Security officials made a grisly discovery after regaining control of a California prison after a riot in May 2015: an inmate who was nearly cut in two and his organs removed.

The Associated Press reports that the gruesome murder took place at California State Prison Solano, located in Vacaville, outside the California state capital of Sacramento. The victim had all of his abdominal and most of his chest organs removed before he was placed inside a trash can in order to hide the body.

The victim was 24-year-old Anthony Rodriguez, who was serving an eight-year sentence for robbery. The investigation into the crime is ongoing, but the primary suspect seems to be Rodriguez's cellmate, Jesus A. Perez, 46-years-old. Perez, who is serving a life sentence for a Los Angeles county murder, is currently being held in solitary confinement as investigators try to determine his exact role in the killing.

California is home to some of the most violent prisons in the country, recording more than 160 murders in the last 15 years.

It is thought the murder took place sometime May 4, when a huge fight involving 58 inmates broke out in the housing unit where Rodriguez and Perez shared a cell. It took more than 14 hours for prison guards to regain control of the prison, and it was after full control was established that Rodriguez's body was found. Prison authorities had initially thought Rodriguez escaped from the prison during the fracas.

Investigators are currently speculating that the riot may have been a ploy to help the killer hide the body.

Before being disemboweled, Rodriguez was beaten and died as a result of injuries to his head sustained during the beating.