Robert "R.J." Daidone
Robert "R.J." Daidone, 28, was a gifted musician who loved playing the blues and classic rock on electric guitar, according to his mother, who also described him as protective of his younger sister. He died in his cell at Maury Correctional Institution in North Carolina on July 5, 2016. Prison officials and the medical examiner, Dr. M.G.F. Gilliland, classified his death as a suicide by asphyxia, with officials saying he was found with torn sheets wrapped around his neck. His mother said he developed a serious infection from a spider bite and was not seen by a doctor or given antibiotics in the days before he died, and the family's lawyer is conducting an independent investigation into possible medical negligence.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner and prison officials say he died by suicide, with asphyxia from torn sheets around his neck; his mother says staff ignored an untreated spider-bite infection and withheld antibiotics, and the family's lawyer is conducting an independent investigation into possible medical negligence.
Reported by: Dr. M.G.F. Gilliland (medical examiner or coroner); Maury Correctional Institution officials (the agency that held him); his mother; the family's lawyer (family or their lawyers).