A 74-year-old California sex offender who had been on death row for over forty years for murdering a woman he had raped died while awaiting execution, Marin County authorities announced on Wednesday.
Harvey Heishman passed away in San Quentin State Prison’s infirmary on Tuesday, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Heishman’s cause of death will be determined by the Marin County coroner, authorities said.
An Alameda County judge sentenced Heishman to death for the November 1979 fatal shooting of 28-year-old Nancy Lugassy. Heishman shot and killed Lugassy outside her Oakland home.
Lugassy told cops that Heishman had raped her on the night they met. Heishman was subsequently apprehended but was later released on bail. He shot and killed Lugassy before she was scheduled to testify against him in court, according to authorities.
