EL PASO, Texas – (KFOX14/CBS4) — The family of Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old migrant who died earlier this month at Camp East Montana, is raising concerns about the handling of his death, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says appears to have been a suicide.
Diaz’s death marks the third at the detention facility.
Randall Kallinen, the attorney representing Diaz’s family, is seeking answers regarding the location and process of the autopsy.
“I had to go searching for where Mr. Diaz’s body was. I assumed it would be with the El Paso Medical Examiner, but when I contacted them and reviewed their records, Mr. Diaz was not there. They later confirmed they did not perform the autopsy,” Kallinen said.
Kallinen discovered that Diaz’s body was sent to William Beaumont Army Medical Center instead of the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the family was not informed of this transfer.
“The family is extremely distraught about this whole situation. And they really want to get to the truth. They really loved Victor,” Kallinen stated.
A representative at the medical examiner’s office reportedly told Kallinen that a jurisdictional disagreement with the federal government delayed their attempt to take custody of the body.
Kallinen was later informed that the autopsy had already been completed at William Beaumont.
In contrast, autopsies for the two previous deaths at the facility were performed by the El Paso County Medical Examiner.
RELATED: Medical examiner rules migrant’s death at Camp East Montana a homicide
According to a contract on the DHS website, local authorities must be immediately notified when a death occurs in custody at a detention facility.
FULL CONTRACT:
It also states that in cases of violent death or when a death is under investigation, “the contractor shall notify the coroner of the local jurisdiction to request a review of the case, and if necessary, examination of the body.”
“It should have been the El Paso County Medical examiner. They have that jurisdiction. As a matter of fact, when I contacted both the El Paso County Medical Examiner and the military, both of them confirmed there was an argument over jurisdiction which for some reason never happened before until this particular case,” Kallinen said.
Kallinen has requested the autopsy report from William Beaumont but was told it could take several months to receive.
Attempts to reach DHS and William Beaumont Army Medical Center for comment were unsuccessful.
RELATED: Migrant death at Camp East Montana raises concerns over body transfer to military hospital
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