Family seeks answers in relative's death at Yuma prison

Last month, inmate Eduardo Martinez died after an assault at the Yuma Prison, leaving his family to wonder why more wasn't done to protect him.

“My mother and sisters want some justice out of this,” said Eduardo's brother, Manny Martinez of Willcox. “But so far they haven't.”

Eduardo was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraudulent schemes and theft and was placed into the Arizona Department of Corrections system in September 2010.

He was transferred multiple times, but when he was moved to a prison in Phoenix, he found himself in trouble with some other inmates.

“My son started to have some problems with a group of inmates,” said Eduardo's mother, Helen Martinez, also of Willcox. “He wrote to me that he needed money because he was in trouble with some guys.”

Around four months ago the inmates Eduardo was in trouble with severely beat him and broke his jaw in three places.

“After he got beat up, he was placed under protective custody until he was transferred to Yuma,” Manny said.

Now that Eduardo was serving his time in the Cibola Unit in San Luis, he believed things were going to improve.

“The letters he was sending in the beginning were upbeat,” Helen said. “He would write to me and say that everything was going good for him now that he was away from those other inmates.”

But after a few weeks, Eduardo's letters took on an ominous tone.

“He said that the men who had assaulted him at the other prison had been transferred to Yuma,” Helen said. “He thought bad things were going to happen.”

On Dec. 10, two days before Eduardo's 51st birthday, the inmates from the Phoenix prison brutally assaulted him and left him in a coma.

He was taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center where he was placed on life support. He died on Dec. 16.

“I even sent him the money but they still beat him to death,” Helen said. “I would ask him why he wouldn't tell the guards about these things. He would just say that they didn't care about him.”

As of now, Eduardo's family still doesn't know if the men responsible for his death have received any type of punishment.

“We've been calling and all they can tell us is that it's an ongoing investigation,” Manny said. “We would like to know who did this and why they were moved there, but so far we haven't gotten anything.”

When contacted, ADC spokesman Bill Lamoreaux said Eduardo's “injuries were consistent with an assault” and that the investigation is ongoing.

Darren DaRonco can be reached at (928) 539-6857 or ddaronco@yumasun.com.