SOLEDAD – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the Nov. 29, 2025, death of incarcerated person Kevin A. Torres (BH6909) at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) as a homicide.
At approximately 9:19 p.m., custody staff conducting a security check in a Housing Unit approached a cell occupied by Torres and another incarcerated person, Thomas Farias (BU1065). Staff discovered Torres unresponsive in the cell. Responding personnel immediately initiated life-saving efforts.
American Medical Response transported Torres to Salinas Valley Health, where he was pronounced deceased at 10:49 p.m. by medical personnel.
Farias has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the SVSP Investigative Services Unit and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for potential murder charges. The Office of the Inspector General was notified, and the Monterey County Coroner will determine the official cause of death.
Torres, 26, was received from Sonoma County on October 26, 2018, to serve a 19-year sentence for attempted second-degree murder with firearm-discharge enhancements.
Farias, 39, was received from Fresno County on August 24, 2005, to serve a 12-year sentence for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, second-degree burglary, and assault with a firearm.
SVSP opened in May 1996 in Monterey County. The institution houses approximately 2,400 minimum- and maximum-custody incarcerated individuals and employs approximately 1,500 staff.
Thomas Farias
Kevin Torres (Deceased)
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