Wallace Dandridge
Wallace Dandridge was a 16-year-old with a developmental disability who died on April 7, 1999, at the Oak Ridge Juvenile Correctional Center in Richmond, Virginia. His uncle, Tyrone Manzy, disputed the official account of how he died. The Virginia medical examiner classified the death as accidental, attributing it to a heart attack, while a source close to the investigation linked it to a closed larynx. The state later paid $1.2 million to settle a wrongful death suit over his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The Virginia medical examiner ruled the death accidental, citing a heart attack; a source close to the investigation linked it to a closed larynx, and his uncle disputes the official account, while his family's wrongful death suit says guards left him handcuffed and strapped face down to a bunk before he was found unconscious, and the state later paid $1.2 million to settle it.
Reported by: Virginia medical examiner (medical examiner or coroner); his uncle and his family's wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers); a source close to the investigation.
Lawsuit: The state of Virginia settled a wrongful death suit over his death for $1.2 million.