The death of Christian Doran Walker, shown in the inset photos provided by the family's lawyer and the prison photo from the State of Nevada Department of Corrections, was recorded on April 15, 2023, in a Nevada prison.
A legal case suggests authorities in Nevada attempted to conceal the truth after a prisoner who reportedly died at the hands of corrections officers was discovered undressed in a pool of blood in a prison cell.
Following the discovery of Walker moaning in a fetal position in his cell at High Desert State Prison outside Las Vegas, a prison worker declared Christian Doran Walker, aged 44, dead on April 15, 2023, as per allegations in the lawsuit filed by Walker's mother in Clark County.
The mother's lawyer, James Urrutia, stated, “A man that should be alive was killed,” as cited by a local CBS affiliate after the incident. KLAS “The loss of a child is something you never get over,” expressed the mother's attorney, as reported by a local CBS affiliate following Christian's death.
Legal papers have highlighted the inexplicable circumstances surrounding Walker's death. Despite the Clark County Coroner attributing his death to natural causes, the lawsuit reported that an inconclusive investigation led to no disciplinary action against any correctional officers.
The court documents claimed, “Christian’s death was being hidden — among many other unusual deaths of inmates in Nevada prisons.
The lawsuit identifies the state Department of Corrections and its director, James Dzurenda, along with multiple prison officials, medical personnel, guards, and the Clark County coroner’s office as defendants.
A representative from the corrections department did not respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime. The county refused to provide a statement.
Legal documents outline the sequence of events during Walker’s final days, revealing his extensive time spent in prison. His second-degree murder conviction for the 1997 killing of his 17-year-old girlfriend, who was shot in the head four times and found in the desert, was reported by the Las Vegas Sun in 2001 when Walker failed to appeal his case to the Nevada Supreme Court.
According to court records, he had been an exemplary inmate and was nearing the completion of his sentence at the time of his death.
The events leading to his death commenced in early April 2023 when he was at the Southern Desert Correctional Center. He reported symptoms including extreme paranoia, headaches, and cognitive difficulties, which he believed to be the result of poisoning. After undergoing medical assessments, he was inexplicably transferred to the prison where he ultimately died.
On April 13, 2023, he purportedly suffered a severe beating and was subjected to pepper spray, resulting in loss of consciousness and hospitalization in Las Vegas.
Medical records from the hospital indicated that he had been assaulted with unknown objects, resulting in injuries to his head, face, right lower extremity, and right arm. The lawsuit stated that a first responder suspected he had been struck with a baton to the back of the head, and Walker had no recollection of the incident. Medical professionals treated him for lacerations on his scalp, lip, and shin, requiring a total of 17 stitches. Additionally, he had a defensive fracture on his pinkie that necessitated a splint and a head wound. After spending four hours at the hospital, he was released into police custody and returned to High Desert State Prison, according to court documents.
According to the lawsuit, the next day he was attacked again with batons.
The lawsuit claims that a fellow inmate who brought Walker's dinner at 6 p.m. found him suffering under the bed frame, with blood and bruises on his back and legs. Despite this, officers, medical staff, and the administration allegedly ignored him.
The next morning at 6:30, a first responder was alerted about a cardiac arrest at the prison. Upon arrival, the responder found Walker in a treatment room, being given CPR by prison staff. The responder noted that Walker's face was severely swollen and bruised, according to the lawsuit.
The first responder documented that prison staff claimed to have found the patient in his cell at 6:00 am in cardiac arrest, with CPR ongoing. They also stated that they didn't know how the patient got his injuries, the lawsuit alleges.
Following a consultation with an emergency room doctor, it was determined that all efforts to save Walker's life had failed. He was pronounced dead at 7:18 a.m. The lawsuit stated that he had died the previous night, based on the signs of death noted by the first responder.
Despite photographic evidence of his severely beaten body, the lawsuit reported that the medical examiner attributed Walker's death to natural causes due to heart disease, even though he had no history of such problems. The lawyer representing his mother said this..
According to court documents, the lawyer had a forensic pathologist review the autopsy and medical records and recommended a re-evaluation of the death.
The pathologist, Lary Simms, stated in his report that the circumstances and autopsy findings did not support the initial cause of death. He suggested that the cause of death was blunt head trauma, specifically cerebral edema due to assault.
The lawsuit claimed that after Walker's death, prison leaders worked together to tamper with his medical records. They allegedly conspired with the coroner to ensure that the cause of death was labeled as 'natural' and not from blunt force trauma.
According to the lawsuit, this cover-up is part of a longstanding pattern to keep the true causes of inmate deaths hidden from the public.
Court documents mentioned that over the years, many inmate deaths were reported as 'natural' by the coroner. The lawsuit alleged that this cover-up led to the retention of aggressive and poorly trained correctional officers, and created an environment that encouraged violence in Nevada prisons.