Schizophrenic man starves to death losing 64 pounds in 73 days while being held inside a Las Vegas jail after being found incompetent to stand trial and delays prevented his transfer to a psychiatric hospital
- According to a lawsuit, Fernando Martinez Jr. lost. 64 pounds in 73 days before dying while in prison
- His mother, Sonia Esparza, claims the Clark County Detention Center and Wellpath LLC failed to properly treat her son
- At the time of his arrest, Martinez Jr. was suffering. to schizophrenia, psychosis, paranoia and undiagnosed depression
A recently filed lawsuit claims a mentally ill man was starved to death while being held in a Las Vegas jail after staff failed to treat him properly.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed on December 29 by Sonia Esparza, alleged that her son Fernando Martinez Jr. Lost 64 pounds over 73 days before dying while incarcerated in the Clark County Detention Center.
It alleges that prison staff and Wellpath LLC, the company responsible for medical care at the detention center, abused Martinez Jr. not treated properly, which led to his death.
On December 3, 2022, 33-year-old Martinez Jr. arrested by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for making terroristic threats.
According to court documents, Martinez Jr. suffered. at the time of his arrest from schizophrenia, psychosis, paranoia and undiagnosed depression.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed on December 29 by Sonia Esparza (right), alleged that her son Fernando Martinez Jr. (left) died of starvation in prison
The lawsuit alleges that staff at the Clark County Detention Center and Wellpath LLC, the company responsible for medical care at the detention center, failed to contact Martinez Jr. treated appropriately.
He reportedly weighed 220 pounds when he was arrested and had dropped to 156 pounds when his body was found dead in his jail cell on February 15, 2023.
“Despite being well aware of Martinez Jr.’s limitations and diagnoses as a result of prior incarcerations and his lack of competency, Defendants failed to prosecute Martinez Jr. to properly house, treat, monitor, and otherwise protect him during his captivity,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit claims he became paranoid about the food being served. He reportedly told a nurse that he refused to eat because “the food was all poisoned.”
Martinez Jr.’s cellmate claimed that Martinez Jr. sometimes ate, but forced herself to throw up immediately afterwards.
According to the lawsuit, a nurse reported seeing himself forced to vomit, but the defendants did not elaborate.
‘Martinez Jr. died as a result of starvation and dehydration, essentially from lack of life, caused by Defendants’ lack of adequate care and deliberate disregard for Martinez Jr.’s physical and mental condition,” the lawsuit states.
On the day of his death, Martinez Jr. was supposedly seen “stumbling and having an abnormal appearance in his eyes,” and later in his cell “sleeping without snoring,” but was left unattended for several hours.
According to court documents, Martinez Jr. suffered. (right) at the time of his arrest from schizophrenia, psychosis, paranoia and undiagnosed depression. He was said to have been transferred to a mental health facility by the time of his death
Martinez Jr. (right) reportedly weighed 220 pounds when he was arrested and weighed 156 pounds when his body was found dead in his jail cell on February 15, 2023
When an officer entered the cell, the 33-year-old was unresponsive. Resuscitation was attempted, but according to the lawsuit, rigor mortis had already developed.
The lawsuit also alleges that Martinez Jr. should not have been held in the Clark County Detention Center at the time of his death.
On January 18, 2023, Martinez Jr. was found to be incompetent and had to be transferred to a mental health institution.
Esparza is seeking compensatory damages, survival damages and wrongful death damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
Wellpath has come under fire in the past over prison deaths. a CNN investigation in 2019 linked Wellpath to more than 70 deaths in a five-year period.