A 47-year-old inmate serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole died Tuesday after being attacked by another prisoner inside California State Prison, Sacramento, prison officials say. It is the second time in seven days that the high-security facility, commonly known as New Folsom Prison, has opened a homicide investigation into an inmate's death.
Danny Aguilar was pronounced dead by a prison physician in the facility's triage and treatment area, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as reported by CBS Sacramento. Prison staff reported witnessing 36-year-old Julio Caesar Madrigal attacking Aguilar inside the prison, per CDCR. Madrigal reportedly failed to comply with staff orders for inmates in the area to get down, and custody staff fired two less-lethal rounds at him before the assault was stopped, the outlet reported.
Officials recovered an improvised weapon at the scene, per prison officials cited in the same report. No staff members were injured during the incident. Madrigal has since been placed in restricted housing, and Facility C, where the attack occurred, was placed on modified program.
A Second Homicide Probe in a Single Week
Aguilar's death comes just a week after CSP Sacramento opened another inmate homicide investigation following the August 11 death of 37-year-old inmate Walter Badelle, who was found unconscious in his cell and later pronounced dead. Badelle's cellmate, Jonathan Blackwell, was placed in restricted housing as that case is investigated, according to CDCR. Hoodline previously reported on that homicide probe just days earlier.
Aguilar had been incarcerated at CSP Sacramento since being transferred from Los Angeles County in October 2006. Madrigal, who was serving a second-strike sentence, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder and had been transferred to the prison from Tulare County in June 2022. Whether the two men had any prior conflict remains an open question.
A Facility Built for the Hardest Cases, Now Over Capacity
Opened in 1986 near Folsom, CSP Sacramento spans 1,200 acres and employs roughly 1,500 staff members to house medium-, maximum-, and high-security male prisoners who proved difficult to manage at other institutions, according to CDCR background information. As of late June, the prison held 2,172 incarcerated people, operating at 118.8% of its official design capacity of 1,828 prisoners, per CDCR population data.
That overcrowding stands in contrast to a broader statewide trend. California's total adult prison population fell from roughly 173,000 in 2006 to about 90,000 by mid-2026, prompting the state to close five institutions and consolidate higher-risk inmates into facilities like CSP Sacramento, according to a California State Auditor report published earlier this month. The result has concentrated maximum-security individuals with long sentences or difficult behavioral histories into fewer, more strained facilities.
A Pattern of Violence Stretching Back Years
Aguilar's death adds to a string of violent incidents at the prison over the past two years. In March, a correctional officer sustained multiple puncture wounds after being stabbed with an improvised weapon by inmate Jon C. Blaylock, who was serving a life sentence for attempted murder of a peace officer, according to ABC10. Hoodline also covered that stabbing attack on a guard.
Large-scale yard violence has also plagued the facility. In November 2025, a riot involving roughly 20 prisoners required guards to fire warning shots and non-lethal rounds, hospitalizing four inmates and yielding four recovered improvised weapons, according to CBS News. In March 2025, a larger riot involving about 40 inmates left five prisoners injured by stabbings, with guards recovering 11 improvised weapons after deploying chemical agents; 22 firefighters and multiple ambulance units responded to that scene.
Fatal inmate-on-inmate violence is not new to the prison either. Inmate Jason Brannigan fatally stabbed fellow inmate Lamar Scott with an improvised weapon in December 2024 and later allegedly attacked two correctional officers with a makeshift weapon in November 2025, per ABC10's earlier reporting.
What Happens Next
When a homicide occurs inside a California state facility, the prison's Investigative Services Unit runs an internal probe parallel to a criminal investigation by the local district attorney's office, while the California Office of the Inspector General receives mandatory notification to provide independent oversight, according to the Folsom Times. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified about Aguilar's death, and CSP Sacramento is investigating it as a homicide. Local prosecutors will ultimately evaluate the evidence for potential new felony murder charges against Madrigal.
How the improvised weapon used in Tuesday's attack entered or was manufactured inside Facility C has not been disclosed. With two inmate homicide investigations opened within the same week, it remains unclear whether CDCR will pursue broader lockdowns or trigger additional oversight review at the facility.
