Child molester allegedly killed by cellmate in state prison

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. - A former Cathedral City resident serving a prison sentence for child molestation was allegedly killed by his cellmate, according to corrections officials.

Robert Elsworth Hunter, 77, was found ``unresponsive in his cell with blunt force injuries to his face,'' according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He was pronounced dead just before 8 a.m. Monday at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione.

Hunter was serving a 15-year-to-life sentence for molesting a boy at various times over the course of three years while living in Cathedral City, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty to a single count of oral copulation on a child in 2009, court records show.

Hunter's cellmate, Matthew Wanser, has been identified as a suspect in his death, according to CDCR.

Wanser, 46, was convicted of a double murder in San Diego County and is currently serving a life term without the possibility of parole. Wanser has been at the prison since November 1998, according to a CDCR statement.

Prison officials said inmate movement within the prison has been "limited'' as a result of the homicide investigation by the prison's Investigative Services Unit.