Melissa Chatzimanolakis’ brother Anthony died while awaiting trial at an Ontario jail late last month, marking one of the latest amongst an increasing number of inmate deaths in recent years – but Melissa says she’s refusing to let him become “a sad statistic.”
“We did everything together,” Melissa told CTV News Toronto in an interview over the phone Thursday. “He was a happy, loving, caring person.”
The family has said that initial investigations and autopsies performed on Anthony suggest he may have died of a drug overdose, but concrete answers, including a coroner’s report and toxicology results, could still be up to nine months away.“We were only 10 months apart,” Melissa said. “My brother and I have been side-by-side our whole lives.” That changed last September when Anthony was arrested after being accused of vehicle theft, carrying an unlicensed, loaded firearm, and harassment.
He often spoke of the pain he was in, suffering complications from a 2019 motorcycle crash, Melissa said. Anthony was scheduled to receive a surgery in November 2022, but the procedure was cancelled and the family was not provided with a clear plan for Anthony’s healthcare past that point, she said.Now, Melissa says she’s been left to wonder what exactly happened to her brother.
“There needs to be more accountability,” Melissa said. “To ensure that proper checks are being done to prevent illicit drugs from being available inside these facilities.” “It’s not an exaggeration to say that people are now dying because of the failures of our justice system,” Premier Doug Ford said at Queen’s Park Monday. Two days later, the province tabled a motion calling on the federal government to take immediate action on “meaningful” bail reform.
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Sister of man who died awaiting trial in a Toronto jail last month speaks out on 'alarming' trend in inmate deathsMelissa Chatzimanolakis’ brother Anthony died while awaiting trial at an Ontario jail late last month, marking one of the latest amongst an increasing number of inmate deaths in recent years – but Melissa says she’s refusing to let him become “a sad statistic.”
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