James Leonard Acuna
James Leonard Acuna, 58, was a construction worker who was raised by his sister after their parents died, and his niece remembered him as a hard worker who was very giving. He died in his cell at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in Otay Mesa, California, around April 21 or 22, 2017, and his body was not found until April 24, when it had decomposed too far for a cause to be determined. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office listed the cause as undetermined, said natural causes such as liver disease were possible, and said homicidal violence could not be completely excluded, with minor blunt force injuries noted in the autopsy. The family was not notified and learned of his death months later from news reports, and state oversight was reported to have called the prison's response inadequate.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (neglect alleged). The medical examiner could not determine the cause because of decomposition, noting possible natural causes including liver disease but that homicidal violence cannot be completely excluded; other people held there said staff first took the odor for a sewer problem before the body was found.
Reported by: San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (the agency that held him).