A family is seeking answers after a woman abruptly died at the Pueblo County Jail
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- The family of 30-year-old Marissa Fresquez is still searching for answers over two weeks after she abruptly died inside the Pueblo County Jail on June 23, 2022.
13 Investigates has learned Fresquez was in jail on a failure to appear in court warrant. Marissa's family says she was taken into custody after a car crash three days earlier.
"It feels like there is a hole in my chest that I can't fill," Marrisa's father Sonny said. "I didn't hear from any police. The father of the driver contacted me on messenger and he tells me there's been an accident. Your daughter went to jail."
Fresquez was charged with reckless driving on October 5, 2020. She accepted a plea deal in that case on December 27, 2021. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 12 months of unsupervised probation.
According to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, Fresquez was found unresponsive in her jail cell six months later. However, 13 Investigates is waiting to hear back about why she was jailed at the end of June.
The last person to see Marissa alive was her cell mate, Savannah. She tells 13 Investigates Marissa was puking for much of the night before, June 22.
Then, the next morning she found her unresponsive lying next to her.
"I looked over at her to check on her. She was laying on her back. Her eyes were wide open. Her mouth was too. She was very pale. A part of me was telling me that she was gone," Savannah said.
Savannah said her other cell mate told her that Marissa was going through drug withdrawals and wasn't getting the proper care for them.
"That's what I was thinking. That it was drugs," Savannah said. "The entire time that she was in there, she was laying naked. They never came to check on her that night when they were yelling at her to put clothes on, so they obviously didn't know that she was puking."
Fresquez's family held a vigil for her at 8 p.m. on July 8, outside the Pueblo County Jail. Her family says they have been given little information about her death and the subsequent investigation.
"Where's the accountability? She didn't deserve what she got," a family member said.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office says the 10th Judicial Critical Incident Team responded at the request of Sheriff Kirk Taylor. The Critical Incident Team's response is not always protocol, but can be called in by the Sheriff, according to a spokesperson.
After Fesquez's death, Sheriff Taylor said, "While it is on the line whether or not to activate the CIRT team, I felt that a third-party independent review was in order," Taylor said. "Unfortunately, we have more questions than answers at this point, but we will know more after the results of the investigation, interviews and an autopsy."
Marissa's family says her autopsy report has come back as inconclusive. Her toxicology report is not expected for another 6-8 weeks.
13 Investigates requested more information on the investigation into Fesquez's death. They could not provide them because they are part of the "active investigation."
