A former journeyman actor and mixed martial arts fighter is the key suspect in the murder of a convicted sex offender in a California prison, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Authorities said Joseph Hyungmin Son, 40, killed his cellmate, a 50-year-old man, who was found dead on Monday at Wasco State Prison-Reception Center in Kern County. The man was in prison for violation of his parole for failing to register as a sex offender. The cause of death is pending.
Prison officials have named Son as the suspect, but officials said charges against him will await the completion of the investigation. Son, who played henchman Random Task in “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” was also briefly a mixed martial arts fighter who used the name Joe Son.
He had arrived at the prison reception center Sept. 16 after having been convicted of torture and sentenced to life in prison without parole in connection with the 1990 Christmas Eve rape of a woman out walking her dog.
The Wasco State Prison-Reception Center is a a way station which provides short-term housing for new inmates before they are evaluated to determine their appropriate institutional placement.
According to MMAWeekly:
Born in South Korea, Son fought one time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, against Keith Hackney at UFC 4. He went on to lose three more mixed martial arts bouts, two for the Pride organization. He also had one kickboxing bout promoted by K-1. He never won a single bout.
Son was convicted in August and was sentenced to life in prison without parole in September. Read the California Department of Corrections release here.
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