Chad Padilla
Chad Padilla was 20 years old when he died on March 21, 2022, while in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at the Telford Unit, a state prison in New Boston in Bowie County. Staff found him in his cell around 2 a.m., and he was pronounced dead at about 2:25 a.m., according to prison officials and local reporting. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said the cause of death had not been confirmed. The Office of the Inspector General is investigating the death as a suicide, and that finding has not been made official.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide. Prison officials said the death is being investigated as a suicide, and the Office of the Inspector General is investigating, though the cause has not been made official.
Reported by: Texas Department of Criminal Justice (the agency that held him); Office of the Inspector General (outside investigators).