INDIAN SPRINGS (KTNV) — The parents of Jacob Herman, an inmate killed at High Desert State Prison in July, are preparing to sue the Nevada Department of Corrections for their son's death.
35-year-old Jacob Herman was killed on July 16, 2025, just five days away from his scheduled released. According to the family's lawyers, Herman was supposed to be in protective custody but was instead placed in the prison's most violent wing, cell block 4C.
Attorneys say Herman was placed in a cell with a mentally ill man known as "King" who was serving a life sentence without parole for committing a "savage sex assault of a woman and her 10-year-old child, then bludgeoning them with a hammer."
King was convicted of multiple homicides, robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault. Inmates allegedly told attorneys King is well known for running and shouting incoherently and disobeying corrections officers. King was housed in a cell alone, but when he was told he was getting a cellmate, he allegedly told guards, "If you put someone else in my cell, I will kill them."
Jacob Herman was placed in a cell with King.
Attorneys say around 2:30 a.m. the next morning after Herman was moved, there was a "ruckus" and King began bragging that he just killed Herman by stabbing and strangling him. King allegedly had a contraband weapon in his cell.
Herman was in prison on a 2023 case in which he was convicted of one felony count of larceny. His sentence was 12-36 months. He was granted probation but had it revoked on May 13, 2024 due to a drug issue.
WATCH | Rising deaths in Nevada prisons leave families searching for answers
Herman's death is one of many that we have reported on over the last few months. So far this year, there have been 66 deaths reported in the Nevada prison system.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates