'We're so angry': Family of man who died in Toronto jail awaiting trial speaks out

Melissa Chatzimanolakis and her brother, Anthony Chatzimanolakis, were born only 10 months apart. They were like twins who never left each other's side, she recalls.

Chatzimanolakis lived with Melissa for a time. They'd run errands, go on long walks, watch movies, and he'd often take her toddler to daycare.

"He was like my best friend, we did anything you can think of together," the 29-year-old said.

Chatzimanolakis loved being an uncle and dreamed of building a future of his own. He planned to get married, travel to Greece with Melissa and start a family.

But those plans were cut short two weeks ago after Chatzimanolakis died on March 25 at Toronto South Detention Centre in what his family was told was a suspected drug overdose.

Chatzimanolakis's family first contacted CBC News about his death last week. His sister decided to speak about her brother's loss following his funeral Monday.

"We're shocked," Melissa said. "This could have been prevented. We're so angry, and we feel guilty because there was nothing that we could have done to help him."

Melissa said her family, who are from Brampton, Ont., is devastated and furious that their loved-one died so suddenly while at the jail, and want answers around the circumstances of his death.

Adding to their grief is the fact that, the 30-year-old had been in need of necessary surgery that the jail did not facilitate, according to Chatzimanolakis's lawyer, Carmello Truscello.

Man needed surgery for previous injury: lawyer

Chatzimanolakis was arrested on Sept. 15, 2022 on a string of charges including motor vehicle theft, carrying a loaded gun without a license and criminal harassment.

Since then, he had been in pre-trial custody awaiting a bail review hearing that was scheduled for April 14 in Toronto, his lawyer said in an email to CBC News.

But while awaiting the hearing, wounds from a 2019 car crash were beginning to burst, Truscello said.

"A long incision in his torso had begun to open and his intestinal tract was bulging out in two places," said Truscello. That information that was going to be presented at Chatzimanolakis's bail review, he said.

Truscello said the jail had scheduled Anthony for surgery on Nov. 3, 2022 at Sunnybrook Hospital, but the surgery was suddenly cancelled with no clear reason.

"He was told that the jail could not facilitate the procedure," Truscello said.

Chatzimanolakis died before his case made it to trial. As of the date of his death, no new surgery had been scheduled to his knowledge, "despite ongoing requests," Truscello said.

In a statement to CBC News Toronto, the Ministry of the Solicitor General said paramedics were called to the jail on March 25 after staff "found an inmate unresponsive and in medical distress in his cell."

The ministry said it could not provide further details as a "number of investigations" are underway, said Brent Ross, a spokesperson for the ministry in an emailed statement.

The office of the Chief Coroner confirmed to CBC News Toronto that it is investigating the death, as all deaths in custody are probed by the office. If Chatzimanolakis's death was the result of anything other than natural causes, that would prompt a mandatory inquest, it said in an emailed statement.

Inmate deaths in prison increased from 2020

The young man's death comes just months after an open letter was sent to the province's solicitor general by academics and advocacy groups, calling for an "independent oversight body for correctional institutions." Groups told CBC News in January that poor conditions and healthcare are major concerns and that a new body is needed to provide transparency when deaths occur.

A report published in February by Tracking (In)Justice, a justice transparency project, found that deaths in custody nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021, from 23 up to 41. The letter called for the new body to ensure timely reporting on deaths in custody and actions to increase the safety of inmates.

Truscello says Chatzimanolakis's death is connected to larger systemic issues around poor care of inmates, including those in pre-trial custody.

Issues like poor staffing are preventing the province from delivering a required duty of care, said Truscello.

Those concerns are on Melissa's mind as she searches for answers on what happened to her brother, who she says should have had immediate access to the surgery he needed.

"I'm hoping to see changes made with correctional facilities… People are supposed to be somewhat safe where they are," she said. "Where were my brother's human rights?"