William J. Couste
William J. Couste, 54, died on the prison yard at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, California, on April 26, 2025. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says another incarcerated man allegedly attacked him, and it is investigating the death as a homicide. The prison, the Lassen County District Attorney's Office and the Office of the Inspector General are reviewing the incident. The Lassen County Coroner will determine the official cause of death, and he was pronounced dead at 10:49 a.m. at the prison's treatment area.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody
Reported by: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (the agency that held him); Lassen County Coroner (medical examiner or coroner).
News reports (3)
- High Desert State Prison Officials Investigating the Death of an Incarcerated Person as a Homicide - California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
- Inmate death at High Desert State Prison being investigated as homicide
- L.A. County inmate death marks 13th suspected homicide in California prisons this year