Man who murdered elderly Monrovia couple in 2003 killed at Kern County prison

Officials at Kern Valley State Prison are investigating the death of inmate Alfredo Valenzuela, who was found dead in his jail cell on Saturday April 30. 

At approximately 2:05 a.m., officers discovered Valenzuela unresponsive in the cell he shared with Noe Herrera, 36. Authorities are investigating this case as a homicide.

An emergency medical alert was immediately issued, and staff quickly responded and attempted life-saving measures. 

Valenzuela was pronounced deceased at 2:30 a.m. His next-of-kin has been notified. 

The official cause for Valenzuela's death has not been announced.

Valenzuela murdered Charles "Clark'' Shaum, 78, and his wife Bernice Shaum, 70, on either the night of July 25 or the early morning hours of July 26, 2003, after breaking into the couple's Monrovia home.  

In a 2003 interview conducted by detectives, Valenzuela told police he climbed through a window intending to burglarize the couple's home and landed on top of Bernice Shaum.

He stabbed her more than 40 times, then stabbed her husband 113 times, prosecutors said during the trial.

His attorney argued that Valenzuela suffered from brain damage and was on a 10-day methamphetamine binge when he committed the murders.

Valenzuela's girlfriend, Shawna Lenora Robles, was tried separately and also convicted of first-degree murder for her role in the killings.

Prosecutors said she waited outside the bedroom window while Valenzuela stabbed the woman, then was let into the house by her boyfriend and hit Clark Shaum with bolt cutters.