The family of a mother, 27, has filed a $15 million claim against the city of Phoenix, saying that Phoenix police failed to properly investigate her death. Police also let an ex-boyfriend of hers, who was with her around the time, go free, family said.<\/p>\n
Family and friends of Suzanna Delgado stood outside the downtown Phoenix home where she died back in March 2025, on the morning of Oct. 8 and shared how they said officers disregarded their concerns and quickly deemed her death to be an accidental overdose.<\/p>\n
Cash Fazal, an attorney representing the family, described how Phoenix police had failed Delgado and her family in an investigation she described as being \u201cbotched.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire investigation into her death was careless, incomplete and unjust,\u201d Fazel said. \u201cThe Phoenix Police Department ruled her death an overdose almost immediately \u2014 before evidence was even collected, before the autopsy was even completed and before critical questions were even asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claim accuses police of premature conclusions<\/p>\n
Police concluded Delgado had died due to an overdose despite no drugs or drug paraphernalia being found in the bedroom where her body was discovered, according to a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, filed Sept. 4.<\/p>\n
Police failed to secure the scene, let evidence disappear and allowed a man who was the last person to see her alive to drive away while intoxicated, according to Fazal. The man was a friend of Delgado\u2019s and the two had once been in an intimate relationship, she said.<\/p>\n
The man was waiting in his car parked down the street for hours before entering the residence, had access to Delgado\u2019s phone for several hours after her death and gave inconsistent statements to police and first ambulatory staff, according to the notice of claim, which referred to the man as a \u201csuspect.”<\/p>\n
The claim added that police never investigated whether the man provided drugs to Delgado with the intent to have her overdose.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe suspect had a known criminal record, including prior drug-related offenses, but officers disregarded this fact and continued to treat him as a reliable witness rather than a suspect,\u201d the claim said.<\/p>\n
The notice of claim demanded a settlement amount of $15 million based on allegations of negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent investigation and wrongful death.<\/p>\n
Dan Wilson, a city spokesperson, declined to comment on the claim due to pending litigation.<\/p>\n
Autopsy: Woman died with multiple drugs in her system<\/p>\n
Delgado\u2019s death was ruled an accident with the primary cause being \u201cacute polysubstance toxicity\u201d that included ethanol, cocaine, oxycodone and fentanyl, according to the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
The family paid to have a private autopsy conducted but declined to say if or how its findings differed from the county medical examiner\u2019s, Fazal said. Such information would be disclosed during a potential lawsuit, she said.<\/p>\n
An autopsy from the county medical examiner ignored certain injuries and didn\u2019t address concerns Delgado’s family had shared, according to Fazal.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery case deserves equal opportunity \u2014 no matter what race, no matter what neighborhood you\u2019re from,\u201d Fazal said. \u201cAnd every life matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fazel called on Phoenix police to reopen the investigation and for city and county leaders to meet with Delgado\u2019s family in good faith. She urged anyone with information about Delgado\u2019s death to submit an anonymous tip by calling 773-997-5443.<\/p>\n
Family says death deserves a fair investigation<\/p>\n
Suzanna Delgado\u2019s mother, Sylvia Delgado, spoke through tears as she described her daughter as a loving and beautiful soul with two young children who adored her.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was not perfect,\u201d Sylvia Delgado said. \u201cBut she was trying, and she deserved a fair investigation into what happened to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her world was shattered after she received the call about her daughter\u2019s death, and she was dismayed when police and hospital staff ignored her pleas to check her daughter\u2019s neck more closely, Sylvia Delgado said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat really broke me,\u201d Sylvia Delgado recalled. \u201cIt told me that my daughter didn\u2019t even matter to anyone there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa Vasquez, Suzanna Delgado\u2019s sister, said her sister was her best friend who loved her kids more than anything in the world and was often the first person to show up when someone needed help.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the day she died, our family\u2019s been living a nightmare,\u201d Vasquez said. \u201cNot only because she\u2019s gone, but because people who were supposed to find out what happened to her didn\u2019t do their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vasquez acknowledged that nothing would bring her sister back, but hoped that by taking legal action, they might prevent future inadequate investigations into the death of another family\u2019s loved one.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here because my sister\u2019s life matters,\u201d Vasquez said. \u201cShe deserves a real investigation and the truth \u2014 and not assumptions and shortcuts. Her kids deserve to grow up knowing that people cared enough to fight for their mom, my sister. We want transparency, we want accountability and we want justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at perry.vandell@gannett.com<\/a> or 602-444-2474. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @PerryVandell<\/a>.<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Family files claim against city of Phoenix after ‘living a nightmare’<\/a><\/p>\n