Mom claims Nevada prison officers beat son to death

NOTE: The attached video represents earlier reporting on Walker’s death.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The mother of an inmate who died in prison claims officers beat him to death and left him in a pool of his own blood, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed Thursday in state court.

Christian Walker, 44, was found unresponsive in a cell at High Desert State Prison on April 15, 2023. Annette Walker alleges that her son’s death was swept under the rug, that an “unsubstantiated” investigation resulted in no punishment of any correctional officers, and that unusual deaths inside Nevada prisons result in “sham investigations” by the Clark County coroner’s office.

Annette told 8 News Now Friday that the new legal action is not to seek vengeance, but for answers.

“I’m going to be living with this the rest of my life. Crying every day and songs that I hear, pictures that I see. It’s just never going to end for the rest of my life,” Annette said outside the Regional Justice Center. “It’s all in God’s hands, is all I can say.”

Walker first went to prison in 1999 and was serving a sentence of 28 years to life with parole for second-degree murder, attempted murder, and two counts of use of a deadly weapon, according to the department.

“He was found naked, beaten up, bloody, and alone in a prison cell inside the infirmary at High Desert State Prison,” the lawsuit says. Southern Desert Correctional Center and High Desert State Prison are both located near Indian Springs, which is about a 45-minute drive north of Las Vegas.

A representative of the Nevada Attorney General’s Office told 8 News Now Friday that the office’s determination not to prosecute “those involved” was due to insufficient evidence.

The lawsuit refers to the discovery of witnesses, “whistleblowers,” and photographs, as well as an expert opinion that differs from the conclusion made by the coroner’s office.

The 8newsnow.com Investigators previously uncovered photos of Walker showing injuries, including excessive bruising. Graphic photos — too disturbing for publication — of Walker’s body are included in the complaint, which also show excessive bruising.

The Clark County Coroner determined that Walker died of natural causes. His cause of death was hypertensive cardiovascular disease, according to the coroner’s report. Blunt force trauma was noted, but the injuries sustained were not considered fatal and did not contribute to the cause of death, Medical Examiner Stephanie Yagi wrote in the report. Yagi is a named defendant in the lawsuit.

James Urrutia, the attorney who is representing Walker’s mother and filed the lawsuit, previously told the 8 News Now Investigators that Walker had no history of heart problems.

Dr. Larry Sims, a forensic pathologist, disagreed with the coroner’s office findings and concluded that Walker died as a result of brain swelling due to blunt head trauma due to assault.

Sims called for “a complete re-evaluation of the circumstances of death, autopsy and autopsy documentation, neuropathology consultation report, medical records, all pertinent radiographs and evaluation of all tissue slides.”

Timelines from the coroner’s office and the plaintiffs appear to have differences.

The complaint gives the following timeline:

First week of April 2023: Christian notified medical staff at Southern Desert Correctional Center that he experienced what he believed to be poisoning by an unknown source. Christian was experiencing symptoms including extreme paranoia and expressed them to medical staff and other inmates.

Around April 11 and 12: Christian underwent blood work and possible radiological exams to determine symptoms.

April 12: Walker is transferred to High Desert State Prison after an “incident.”

Officers confiscated Walker’s personal property and withheld it from being transferred with him to HDSP. He repeatedly asked for it.

April 13: Incident occurs with at least seven correctional officers and medical staff.

The lawsuit refers to brutal assault with batons and pepper spray which caused Walker to lose consciousness.

A nurse at High Desert State Prison states he does not know how the patient was injured but he believes it was blunt force.

A correctional officer states that he suspected blunt force trauma from another officer’s baton stick striking the patient multiple times to the back of the head, chest, arms, and legs.

American Medical Response (AMR) transferred Walker to University Medical Center trauma where Walker was given stitches to his head and leg.

The lawsuit alleges that a scan revealed that Walker’s head injuries included a scalp hematoma and that he also had a defensive injury. He was discharged four hours later to return to High Desert State Prison.

April 14: A second incident is described in the complaint as a brutal assault with batons while Walker was naked.

Walker was later found in a cell lying in a pool of blood, moaning “under the bed frame, nude, in a fetal position, with blood and bruises all down his back and legs.”

A first responder noted that Walker’s face was badly swollen and bruised and prison staff said they had no idea how Walker sustained the injuries.

Walker was pronounced dead later that morning.

The coroner’s office listed a series of events before Walker’s death starting at Southern Desert Correctional Center:

April 11: Walker failed to obey commands, ran from officers, officers sprayed him with pepper spray and took him to the ground.

April 12: Walker was transferred to High Desert State Prison.

April 13: Walker did not obey orders. Multiple officers used force against Walker. He was taken to University Medical Center where he was given stitches to his head.

April 14: Walker is taken back to High Desert State Prison.

April 15: Walker is found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead.

The lawsuit accuses NDOC leadership and Clark County coroners of conspiring to cover up the officers’ actions.

The lawsuit, in addition to Yagi, names as defendants NDOC and its Director, James Dzurenda, as well as additional NDOC leadership and several correctional officers.

The lawsuit contains thirteen causes of action, including excessive use of force, failure to intervene, failure to protect, and deliberate indifference to a serious medical need.

The lawsuit alleges that there are systemic failures at the Nevada Department of Corrections and refers to a March 2022 legislative performance audit on use of force and a 2023 Nevada Attorney General’s report.

NODC failed to report use of force incidents as required by a Nevada state law passed in 2021, including Walker’s death, according to the complaint.

“NDOC fails to keep adequate track, investigate, and report use of force incidents to the legislature, the Governor, the FBI and the public,” the complaint states. “This failure allows NDOC employees to commit heinous crimes against offenders without being held accountable.”

Along with the complaint, an anonymous letter from a group “currently employed by DOC” was filed alleging excessive use of force by officers against multiple inmates, followed by coverups by leadership.

A second hand-written letter from an inmate alleged that he was assaulted at Southern Desert Correctional Center during a separate incident.

The inmate claimed that an officer told him he was lucky that “they didn’t ‘Walker’ me also.”

The 8 News Now Investigators previously asked Nevada Department of Corrections Director James Dzurenda about the allegations of a cover-up surrounding Walker’s death.

“I truly know there wasn’t. I mean, we don’t, I don’t have anything to do with the coroner,” Dzurenda said in 2023. “I don’t have anything to do with the statement to police, the NDI that did the investigation, and we don’t partake in that. That was their conclusion, not ours so we just go on what we believe is based on their professional opinion or decisions.”

Dzurenda requested an investigation by both the Attorney General’s office and the Nevada Department of Public Safety immediately after Walker’s death.

The 8 News Now Investigators first reported in May 2023 that four officers were removed from their regular duties. They were placed on a no-contact order on April 17 pending the outcome of an investigation, according to NDOC. This included minimal contact with offenders, not responding to incidents, and no access to weapons, a department spokesperson wrote in an email.

8 News Now is awaiting a response to a request for comment from NDOC made on Friday regarding the lawsuit.

The 8 News Now Investigators previously reached out to the Clark County Coroner’s office and received the following statement from Coroner Melanie Rouse:

“We do a medicolegal assessment into the cause and manner of death and our determination is based on those medical findings. In this case, which was incredibly extensive, the medical findings are consistent with a natural cause and manner of death, even in the presence of visible external injuries.”

Inmates and staff told the 8 News Now Investigators that Walker had become a model inmate. He was nearing the end of his prison sentence, according to the complaint. He was known to mentor other inmates and received numerous certificates and an Associate’s Degree.

“This lawsuit stands for something much larger than Christian. It stands for all those who came before and will come after Christian Walker,” the complaint states. “It stands as a loud, strong signal to NDOC officials that their careless attitude towards cruelty will no longer be tolerated and that their efforts to conspire to hide their organization’s wrongful actions will no longer be permitted.”

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