James Lee Crummel, 68, was pronounced dead Sunday after being found hanging in his prison cell.
Crummel was sentenced to death in July 2004 by a Riverside County jury for the 1979 kidnapping, sexual abuse and murder of James Wilfred Trotter, who disappeared on his way to school.
Trotter's body was not found until 1990 and the identity of his body was not confirmed until 1996.
