A recent report by the Office of the Inspector General has ruled the death of Segundo Gamboy Guaranda, a 33-year-old inmate at the New Haven Correctional Center, as a suicide. Guaranda was found dead in his cell on April 16. The report found that the Department of Correction was negligent in monitoring his cell, but there is no evidence that another person was involved in his death.

Background

Guaranda had been arrested in August 2025 and was facing felony charges of first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a child. He had expressed concern about his safety due to his charges and had asked his brother to send money to various people to help him get out of prison.

A note found in Guaranda’s cell after his death claimed that his cellmate had extorted him out of over $5,000 in exchange for not telling other prisoners about his charges. The cellmate had been transferred to another prison the day before Guaranda’s death.

The inspector general’s report concluded that Guaranda’s death was a result of his decision to take his own life, and not due to any criminal action by another person. The report also found that the correction officer who was supposed to be monitoring Guaranda’s cell had falsely logged that he had properly conducted tours of the cell block the morning Guaranda died.

Response

The Department of Correction has stated that it takes the wellbeing of all individuals under its supervision seriously and is reviewing the findings of the report to strengthen its policies and practices. Prison-reform advocates have criticized the state prison system’s failures, and the case has raised concerns about the treatment of inmates with sexual assault charges.

Original reporting: The Connecticut Mirror — read the source article.