Two California inmates accused of killing a fellow prisoner on Nov. 16 pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a murder charge. Christian Perez, 18, who was in custody on suspicion of murder and carjacking, and Heriberto Rodriguez, 24, also accused of carjacking, were arraigned before Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner James Bianco. The murder charge contains a special circumstance allegation of torture. Prosecutors have not decided if they will seek the death penalty in the case.

The victim, Chadwick Cochran, was beaten to death after being placed unsupervised in a room with about 30 other inmates, authorities said. Perez and Rodriguez allegedly believed Cochran was a snitch.

Cochran was a transient from Georgia who lived at a trailer park in Walnut and was jailed for being a convict in possession of a gun and escaping from jails in Arizona and Nevada, the Daily News reported previously. The inmates were unattended in a 700-square-foot room with a concrete floor, a urinal, toilet, and steel benches to eat dinner while deputies searched nearby cells for weapons, the Los Angeles Times reported