Andy Henriquez
Andy Henriquez was 19 when he died on April 7, 2013, in a solitary cell on Rikers Island. His mother, Sandra De la Cruz, a home health aide, said she watched her son suffer without treatment, and a lawsuit against Corizon says he complained of chest pain for months and was sent back to his cell without a cardiac exam. The city medical examiner ruled the cause of death a tear in his aorta, and an expert quoted in the reporting said a hospital could have treated it. The reporting says people held near him tried for hours to get help for him, and that he asked to call his mother to say goodbye. Corizon and the city declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The city medical examiner ruled he died of a tear in his aorta, while his mother's lawsuit against Corizon says staff ignored months of chest-pain complaints and never gave him a cardiac exam.
Reported by: city medical examiner; his mother's lawsuit against Corizon (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His mother sued Corizon and the city over his care on Rikers Island, and the litigation was ongoing at the time of reporting.