2015/09/27
Latandra Ellington had been in prison for 15 months.
With only seven months to go on her sentence she was waiting impatiently to be reunited with her four children.
However, something disturbing was playing on the 36-year-old’s mind.
In a letter she wrote to her family, she confessed having witnessed a prison guard Patrick Quercioli have sex with an inmate.
Ellington added that the culprit and one of his colleagues had also threatened her of grievous consequences if she told anybody.
Officer Quercioli, she said, wanted to hammer her to death.
She also added that when he bullied her, he made it a point to grab his radio and tell his victim that he would bust her head with it.
She wrote: ““He was going to beat me to death and mess me like a dog. He was all in my face Sqt. Q then he grab his radio and said he was gone bust me in my head with it…”
The prison guard’s own history is unsettling; he has a criminal record and was charged with possession of steroids.
Ten days later she was moved to protective custody after the officials learned about Quercioli’s grotesque threats.
Less than 24 hours after she moved, Ellington was found dead.
Although Florida medical examiner Barbara Wolf claimed she died from a “heart attack,” a private autopsy revealed that she had dangerously high levels of blood pressure medicine amlodopine in her body.
Some have raised questions about whether she was poisoned.
Bruising, a cut on her face and other signs of abuse were also identified.
Ellington’s family is now demanding answers.
They say that the threat to her life was writing on the wall – a fact that could not be ignored.
However, the family also claim that prison had a culture of abuse which led to a conscious decision by the staff to ignore any threats.
They also claim she was a victim of abuse, inhumane treatment and worse yet, was not given proper medical treatment.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Officer Quercioli has quit his job.
As for Ellington’s death, no one has been charged yet.
Watch the video below wherein Latandra’s children cry out for answers:
