JUAREZ, Mexico (Border Report) – Chihuahua state authorities are investigating why a suspected murderer died in the middle of a judicial hearing in Juarez three days after his arrest at a drug rehab clinic.
Juarez municipal police officers first encountered Edeer Issel A.M., 34, on Friday after residents of a south Juarez neighborhood accused him of aggressive behavior in public and allegedly kicking a dog on the street.
Officers took him to a drug rehab clinic in the Kilometro 29 neighborhood after realizing he was under the influence of drugs and was not, at the time, engaged in the commission of a crime. Later that day, the municipal police was summoned to the corner of Tierra Blanca and Rabajo streets because the same man was allegedly assaulting the Protestant pastor who runs the clinic.
“The officers witnessed a man on the roof striking another person on the head with a blunt object while residents tried to stop him by throwing rocks at him,” according to a statement from the Municipal Public Safety Secretary obtained by Border Report.
The officers got up on the roof and were attacked by the suspect; they subdued him and tried to render aid to the victim, the statement said. But the Rev. Mauro Cabanas Arambula, who had climbed the roof to escape his attacker, was already dead by then.
The municipal police handed Edeer Issel A.M. to Chihuahua state authorities over the weekend to face homicide charges.
It’s not clear if the suspect immediately received medical attention, but a photograph released by the municipal police on Friday shows bruises and cuts to his face and forehead.
Edeer Iseel A.M. on Monday morning was waiting to face a Chihuahua state judge for a reading of charges when he collapsed and died in a holding cell.
On Tuesday, the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office said an autopsy showed the suspect died of pulmonary embolism – blood cloths that disrupt blood flow.
A spokesman for the AG’s Office said an investigation is ongoing to determine whether the suspect received adequate medical care while in custody.
ProVideo contributed to this report.