Michael Nelson
Michael Nelson, 78, died on August 13, 2024, while held in Florida's state prison system, at a hospital in Homestead. Two years earlier he had been badly injured in an assault by another prisoner and spent months in intensive care and then the prison infirmary. The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner listed the cause of death as pericarditis and the manner as natural. Police initially discussed whether the 2022 beating could have been a delayed homicide, and the Florida Department of Corrections has declined to release details about his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed). The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner ruled the death pericarditis, while police initially discussed whether the 2022 assault was a delayed homicide.
Reported by: Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Florida Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); police.