Editor’s Note: This article discusses suicide. Please take care while reading. If you or someone you know needs help, call the Suicide Crisis Lifeline at 988 or text 741741 for the Crisis Text Line. The 33-year-old New Havener who died in a Whalley Avenue prison earlier this year left a suici de note claiming that his cellmate had extorted him out of more than $5,000 — in exchange for not telling other prisoners the charges he was facing. That note was included in a report released Wednesday by the Office of the Inspector General that revealed the office’s finding that Segundo Gamboy Guaranda’s death was not caused by criminal activity. The OIG did find, however, that the Department of Correction was “negligent” in monitoring his cell. (Click here to read that report in full.) The OIG investigates all deaths in DOC custody. Guaranda was found dead and alone in his cell at the New Haven Correctional Center on Whalley Avenue on April 16. The OIG and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, OCME, determined that Guaranda, who appeared to have hanged himself, died by suicide. “The evidence shows that the DOC was negligent in monitoring Guaranda’s cell,” Inspector General Eliot Prescott wrote. “There is, however, no evidence that another person was involved in Guaranda’s death. I conclude, as did the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, that Guaranda’s death was a suicide. I further conclude that his death was not the result of any criminal action.” The Department of Correction thanked the inspector general for his diligent work. “The DOC takes the wellbeing of all the individuals under its supervision — as well as the wellbeing of its staff — very seriously. The death of an incarcerated individual is traumatic for all involved,” DOC Public Information Officer Andrius Banevicius said in a statement to the Independent. “The DOC is continuing to review the findings with an eye toward strengthening our policies and practices, where and if appropriate, to ensure the safety of the individuals under our supervision.” Guaranda had been arrested in August 2025 and was facing felony charges of first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a child. Guaranda had expressed concern that he would be unsafe due to his charges back in October to a counselor, who determined that Guaranda did not have suicidal ideation. In a note that counselors found in Guaranda’s cell after his death, which was written in Spanish and appeared to be addressed to his brother, he said that the man who had been his cellmate for a month — before being moved to another prison the day before Guaranda’s death — had threatened to expose his charges to the others in the prison if Guaranda didn’t pay him $5,330. In an interview with Guaranda’s brother, according to the report by Prescott, Guaranda had asked him to send money to various people who would use the money to obtain a bail bonds agency to help Guaranda get out of prison. Guaranda’s brother was in contact with multiple members of the cellmate’s family. After they received the money from him, they blocked him. On the day of Guaranda’s death, his brother learned of the alleged extortion. “I hope that one day you will forgive me,” Guaranda wrote in his suicide note, according to a translated version in the OIG’s report. “You have all the receipts for the transfers. If I say something about him, he has threatened to tell the others about my case. I ask you to make a complaint for all of the money.” “Nano,” he wrote, “take care of yourself and take care of mother too.” On the day of his death, Guaranda put up a sign in his cell window at 7:10 a.m. that read “Using Bathroom Give Me A Minute.” At 7:27 a.m., the sign was still up, and a correction officer shined his flashlight in the window but made no move to communicate with Guaranda or remove the sign. At 8 a.m., the shift changed and another correction officer toured the unit. He saw the paper in the window and, when he got no response from Guaranda through the door, opened the door and saw Guaranda, who had hanged himself. He wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. The correction officer called for backup. Guaranda was pronounced dead at Yale New Haven Hospital at 8:37 a.m. “This is another tragic case illuminating the desperation of a person in custody who decides to take his own life. It is no secret that inmates with sexual assault charges or convictions face abuse from other inmates, particularly when the offenses relate to a minor,” Prescott wrote at the conclusion of Wednesday’s report. “There is no dispute in this case that Guaranda committed suicide,” he continued. “His death, however, raises significant questions of law and fact regarding whether criminal responsibility for his suicide death could be imposed on any person under these circumstances.” The report points to two people who could have acted criminally. First the correction officer, who falsely logged that he had properly conducted tours of the cell block the morning Guaranda died. Ultimately, the inspector general determined that the correction officer’s actions, which “may have been negligent and contrary to DOC policy,” could not be characterized as criminal conduct. The second is the former cellmate, who may have committed larceny by extortion. Still, that conduct had been completed by the date of Guaranda’s suicide, and he had already been transferred to the custody of federal authorities. “Finally, it is entirely unclear whether Guaranda’s decision to take his own life was the result, in whole or in part, of other mental health factors or depression from being faced with the real possibility of a lengthy prison sentence for sexually assaulting a minor,” he wrote. Therefore, his office would take no further action in the case. “He was a decent individual,” Guaranda’s lawyer, William Gerace, said in April about his client, who was originally from Ecuador. Gerace said that Guaranda’s family had been “concerned about him for a while” and had been supportive of him during his time in prison. He said they were particularly concerned about his “mental state” during the weeks leading up to his death. Gerace also told the Independent at the time that Guaranda was facing “facing a jail sentence and deportation.” Guaranda’s brother, Wilson, told the Independent for that same April article that Guaranda came to the United States a little more than two years ago in pursuit of work. Wilson said he had been shocked to learn about his brother’s death and said he would never suspect that his brother would take his own life. Prison-reform advocates from across Connecticut — including in New Haven — have stepped up their critiques of the state prison system’s failures.  Former state Commissioner of Correction Angel Quiros retired in May of this year after six years in the role. Sharonda Carlos has served as interim commissioner since. She has said that would train staff in new practices and promote transparency. The state also recently appointed an independent ombuds for the DOC. Thirteen people have died in DOC custody so far in 2026. This story was first published Aug. 12, 2026 by New Haven Independent. ...read more read less