LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Families of Nevada inmates are demanding answers after deaths inside some state prisons have already surpassed last year’s totals — with months still left in 2025.
WATCH | Nevada prison deaths surge past 2024 totals — families demand answers
At High Desert State Prison, nine inmates died in 2024. So far this year, that number has nearly doubled to 17. Southern Desert State Prison has also seen a spike, with four deaths in 2025 compared to just one last year.
Loved ones of the deceased say they’ve been left in the dark as autopsy reports remain pending. The Clark County Coroner’s Office confirmed that final determinations are still outstanding for several men, including:
- Jacob Herman, 35
- Ronnie Owens, 32
- Alexander Sevier, 68
- Fawaz Alzaid, 33
- Michael McGill, 62
The Nevada Department of Corrections told us foul play is not suspected in the death of Sevier, but described Alzaid’s case as “suspicious.” His autopsy is still incomplete.
For families, the lack of clarity has been devastating.
“Why is it so suspicious if he was found in his cell bleeding and injured?” said Brenda Alcala, wife of Fawaz Alzaid. “He said this is my last phone call. He was talking to me like he was pretty much telling us goodbye and next thing you know he turns up dead.”
Meanwhile, Kirk Tillman, the son of Alexander Sevier, said he and his family have received little communication.
“It would make the process a lot more manageable for me and my family… They’re kind of curious about what really took place," Tillman said.
Over the past several weeks, I have received dozens of letters and phone calls from inmates and their families describing unsafe conditions inside Nevada prisons. Some say they fear for their lives, while others describe what they believe are lapses in care and safety measures.
WATCH | Channel 13 talks to family members of a former inmate who died of asphyxia while restrained
In an interview with Channel 13 in August, Gov. Joe Lombardo defended his administration’s prison transfer policies, saying they were intended to ease staffing shortages.
“It may just be a coincidental spat of violence… but if it continues, we’ll continue to evaluate it additionally,” Lombardo said in August.
For grieving families, that explanation falls short.
“What if it was their family?” one loved one asked.
Even basic information has been hard to come by. The Department of Corrections’ website, where inmate deaths are typically posted, has been offline for nearly two weeks following a statewide cybersecurity attack.
That has made it even harder for families and the public to track the full number of deaths.