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Woman dies at Rikers Island, NYC jail officials say — 4th detainee death of 2025
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Mar 20, 2025
Modified Mar 20, 2025
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Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Mar 20, 2025
Modified Mar 20, 2025
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A woman died in custody on Rikers Island early Thursday, the city’s Department of Correction said, making her the fourth detainee to die at the jail complex so far this year.
According to jail officials, the woman was unresponsive when an officer provided her breakfast around 4:45 a.m. at Rikers’ West Facility. The officer notified a nurse on duty, and jail medical staff responded until paramedics arrived to try to treat her, the correction department said.
But officials said the efforts were unsuccessful and the woman was pronounced dead shortly before 5:30 a.m. The department identified her as 55-year-old Sonia Reyes, and said it informed city and state officials about her death as required. It also said it was investigating the incident.
A law enforcement source with knowledge of the case said the woman was serving a sentence of less than a year for a 2023 stabbing. Unlike most other Rikers detainees, who are awaiting trial, she had accepted a plea deal and was serving time at the complex instead of a state prison, the source said.
Jail records show Reyes arrived at Rikers on Feb. 25, meaning she died less than a month into her 364-day sentence. Her listed attorney could not immediately be reached Thursday.
“Care for those in our facilities is a pillar of our mission and a loss of life weighs heavily on every member of service,” Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie said in a statement. “The department grieves this loss and shares our condolences with her loved ones.”
Her death is the fourth death of a Rikers detainee so far this year, and follows that of Ariel Quidone, 20, last week and those of Terrence Moore, 55, and Ramel Powell, 38, last month. That puts the troubled jail complex on pace to match or exceed the five detainee deaths the city Board of Correction reported last year.
A spokesperson for Brooklyn Defender Services expressed devastation over Reyes' death. The spokesperson said there was an urgent need to reduce the jail population, citing worsening conditions and the rising number of deaths.
Reyes’ death also comes a day after a city commission found Rikers will not close by the legally mandated deadline of Aug. 31, 2027, due to delays in the construction of four borough-based replacement jails. The complex now holds around 7,000 people, according to data tracked by the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit advocacy group.
West Facility, where Reyes was being housed, was historically used to isolate detainees with communicable diseases, but last month, the city requested adding more than 70 beds there, in part to deal with a recent influx of detainees.
Darren Mack, cofounder of the Freedom Agenda, a criminal justice reform group, said the news only underscored the grim conditions at Rikers.
“It’s been a human rights crisis for far too long,” he said, calling for the city to invest in supportive housing and other programs that “develop real community safety."
This story has been updated with additional information.
Tagged
new york city
Rikers Island
public safety
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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