PHOENIX — It's been nearly two months since her son died in custody, and Ricci Delk said she still doesn't know what happened.
“He died right there in that jail,” Delk said while pointing to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's 4th Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix.
She and her grandson protested outside the MCSO headquarters Thursday morning. The same day her son Adam Delk would have celebrated his 42nd birthday.
"I mean, it's just maddening to know that today is my son's birthday," Ricci Delk said, holding back tears.
It was February 16 when she said Adam Delk had died. He had spent nearly two years behind bars for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Adam Delk was never convicted, and on the day he was set to be released before his trial, the sheriff's office told his mom that Adam Delk was dead.
Since then, Ricci Delk said she's contacted the MCSO multiple times to find out what happened but has not yet received an answer.
Adam Delk's oldest son Isaiah Delk said he has also been in the dark about this.
"It does make me angry. It makes me confused," Isaiah Delk said. "I have questions. I don’t have answers.”
The Delk family isn't the only one in this situation. The family of Richard Cano Sr., who was reportedly killed in his jail cell at the MCSO facility on Lower Buckeye Road, is also demanding answers. They hired attorneys who filed a notice of claim against the county.
New data obtained by 12News from the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner reveal MCSO in-custody deaths have nearly tripled from 2020 to 2022.
In 2020, 15 inmates died either in jail or were in custody and transported to the hospital where they died. Then in 2022, 43 inmates died by the end of the year.
So far, for 2023, there have been five deaths, including Adam Delk.
Ricci Delk said she will continue to protest outside the sheriff's office until she learns how her son died.
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