Efraín Romero de la Rosa
Efrín Romero de la Rosa, 40, was from Puebla, Mexico, and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. His brother Isaí described him as a very calm young man and a good person who knew the Bible well and wanted to share his faith, while other people held at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia remembered him as friendly and quiet with staff, and a friend said he missed his family. He was held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and died on July 10, 2018, in a solitary confinement cell at the facility, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and an internal CoreCivic investigation concluded that he died by suicide by hanging. His family and attorney dispute the adequacy of the care, classification and checks he received, and say staff falsified logs before his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and CoreCivic's internal investigation found he died by suicide by hanging in a solitary cell, while his family and attorney say staff falsified logs and failed to properly check on him given his schizophrenia diagnosis.
Reported by: Georgia Bureau of Investigation (outside investigators); CoreCivic internal investigation (the agency that held him); his family and attorney.