James Messina, a 68-year-old white man, died on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, from blunt force trauma, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner records. The death was ruled a homicide and assigned to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau.
The address recorded for his death, 44750 60th Street West in Lancaster, is California State Prison, Los Angeles County, the state's men's prison on the western edge of Lancaster in the Antelope Valley. That places his death inside the prison, most likely while he was in custody there.
No public account of what happened to him has been found. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which usually announces when it is investigating an incarcerated person's death as a homicide, has no release about him that could be located, and no news report, criminal charge or court record connected to his death turned up in searches.
As far as the public record shows, no one has been charged in James Messina's death. Anyone with information can contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
