Walter Rogers Jr.
Walter Rogers Jr., a 68-year-old U.S. Army veteran, was held at Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa under a court commitment when, according to a Tuscaloosa Thread investigation, another patient beat him in a hallway in February 2023. He was taken to DCH Regional Medical Center with a severe brain bleed and was later released to hospice care, where he died on March 9, 2023. The Thread calls his death a homicide, while the state Department of Mental Health declined to confirm the timeline or say whether the assailant faced any charges. An obituary remembers him as a veteran, and a service was held weeks later in Ripley, Tennessee.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed). The Tuscaloosa Thread investigation says another patient beat Walter Rogers Jr. in a hallway at Bryce Hospital, causing a fatal brain bleed, while the state Department of Mental Health declined to confirm the timeline or say whether the assailant faced charges.
Reported by: Tuscaloosa Thread investigation (reporters); Alabama Department of Mental Health (the agency that held him).