San Quentin, USA - A California death row inmate who took part in the 2000 cult slayings of five people is in critical condition after attempting suicide, officials say.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton said Justin Helzer, 37, was found in his cell at San Quentin State Prison Thursday and taken to a hospital, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.
She didn't provide any details about the incident.
Helzer's attorney, Daniel Cook, told the newspaper: "I am saddened. If true, it would appear to be another indication of a deeply troubled man, unable to cope with the profound psychological forces that have so greatly influenced and impacted him for so long."
Helzer, his older brother Glenn Helzer and Dawn Godman were convicted in a bizarre murder-extortion plot they claimed to believe would hasten Christ's return to Earth.
Killed in the rampage were Ivan Stineman, 85, and his wife, Annette, 78, of Concord, Calif.; Selina Bishop, the daughter of blues guitarist Elvin Bishop; Bishop's mother, Jennifer Villarin, and Villarin's boyfriend, James Gamble.