Russell Sedelmaier
Russell Sedelmaier, 59, died on March 29, 2020, while held in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections at Stateville Correctional Center. The Department reported the death to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority as natural causes. A Chicago Sun-Times report published March 30, 2020, said the Illinois Department of Public Health had announced the first confirmed COVID-19 death of a person held at Stateville, four days after the prison was placed under a two-week lockdown, but that report did not name the person. The UCLA Law Behind Bars record lists the manner of death as pending.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness. The Illinois Department of Corrections reported the death as natural causes, and the Illinois Department of Public Health attributed the first confirmed death from COVID-19 at Stateville to a person held there.
Reported by: Illinois Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Illinois Department of Public Health.