Abelardo Avelleneda-Delgado
Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, 68, was a family man and grandfather from Statenville, Georgia, who had lived in the United States for about 40 years and worked on farms; his family remembers him walking to the gas station each morning for coffee and dancing at quinceañeras. He died in May 2025 while being transported by a private contractor toward the Stewart Detention Center, after being held at the Lowndes County Jail, and the Webster County coroner suspected an aortic aneurysm, though the cause remains under investigation. Official accounts say he was still breathing when the transport company called 911, while EMS findings and physicians who reviewed them say he was likely already dead, and that dispute has not been resolved. ICE disclosed the death days later, U.S. senators have questioned the agency's reporting delays, and the family has hired an attorney seeking answers.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined
Reported by: Webster County Coroner Steven D. Hubbard (medical examiner or coroner); Immigration and Customs Enforcement (the agency that held him).
News reports (5)
- Detainee Death Report: Avelleneda-Delgado, Abelardo
- A 68-year-old Grandfather Died in ICE’s Custody. His Family Seeks Answers.
- ‘Ticking time bomb’: Ice detainee dies in transit as experts say more deaths likely
- Death toll in ICE detention facilities climb
- ICE facility deaths: 2 die in Georgia; Ossoff, Warnock call for investigation