SANTA ANA A car thief killed earlier this month at Orange County Jail shared a cell with a suspected psychotic double-murderer, leading the victim’s attorney to question why two men with such different criminal histories were housed together.

Danny Pham, 27, serving a six-month sentence for vehicle theft, was found dead July 3 in cell he shared with Marvin Magallanes, an Anaheim man who in May confessed to killing two transients. Pham, of Westminster, had no history of criminal violence in Orange County.

“You don’t put someone with a generic, non-violent offense like Danny in a cell with someone like Marvin Magallanes,” said Pham’s attorney, Michael L. Guisti.

Such a placement could violate jail protocol. Jail officials classify inmates into various housing locations depending on their past confinement history, current charges, criminal sophistication, and a host of other indicators, according to the sheriff’s website. The purpose of the classification system is to minimize the risks to inmates and staff.

Sheriff’s officials are investigating Pham’s death, but have not identified Magallanes as a suspect or officially ruled the death as a homicide. Guisti, who said he plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of Pham’s family, said the claim will be based on the idea that somebody killed Pham.

According to the sheriff’s department, Pham, who was 5-foot-10 and 120 pounds, was found dead inside the cell by a deputy making a food delivery. Officials did not say if Magallanes, 26, 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, was in the cell at the time.

Pham was in good health and just days away from being released when he died, said Guisti

“He was… young and loved by his family. Everyone was expecting him to return home.”

Pham’s cellmate had a different recent history.

On May 12, Magallanes walked into the Anaheim Police Department and confessed to killing a homeless man, Anaheim officials said. The victim in that case was 49-year-old Sabah Alsaad, who died in an early morning attack on Jan. 25 on South Magnolia Avenue. Anaheim investigators say they’ve linked Alsaad’s murder to a second death in Anaheim, the killing of 52-year-old Onosai Tavita, found stabbed to death on South Euclid Street on the morning of Oct. 27.

Magallanes reportedly was preparing to plead guilty to both murders in May, but the judge would not allow it saying he had doubts about Magallanes’ mental state. Police said they have evidence beyond Magallanes’ alleged confession linking him to the two Anaheim killings, but have declined to elaborate.

After his arrest, in May, Magallanes’ brother, Salvador Magallanes, said Marvin has struggled with substance abuse and depression for at least two years. The brother told the Register that Magallanes would “imagine things” and “hallucinate about stuff that wasn’t there.”

In June, 2016, news services reported that Magallanes drove his car into the Calabasas home of TV celebrity Kylie Jenner.