Family of CODA Ariel Quidone demands justice after his death following Rikers Island detention
Family of CODA Ariel Quidone demands justice after his death following Rikers Island detention
In New York City, the family and friends of a 20-year-old CODA, Ariel Quidone, is demanding justice after he died about a week after being sent to Rikers Island on March 7.
I’ve been talking with a Deaf woman named Jennifer Sanabria about this situation. She is connected to Ariel and his family through her son, Joselito, who is the half-brother of Ariel. Joselito and Ariel were very close and they have the same father, who is Deaf.
I will give a recap of what happened according to Jennifer and some news reports.
Ariel was sent to Rikers Island on Friday, March 7 after being charged with robbery.
On Tuesday, March 11, Ariel called his family and expressed fear for his safety.
On Wednesday, March 12, Ariel had a court date but he didn’t appear. His family was confused. They didn’t get any information.
On Thursday, March 13, Ariel’s sister tried contacting Rikers Island but couldn’t get information. She looked up jail records online and saw that he was out and receiving medical attention.
Ariel’s family were later informed that he was found in his cell unconscious. He underwent CPR and was then hospitalized. Ariel’s family said doctors tried to save him and did surgeries on him, but he passed away.
He was pronounced dead on Saturday, March 15, but the family feels that the date of death is not clear because they don’t know what caused him to become unconscious in the first place.
Jennifer Sanabria: Ariel died while he was in jail. His family, friends, loved ones, and his community want the truth and answers on why he died there. How? When? What happened? The information we got is vague. They’re angry. They want justice.
[Short video clips of local news coverage showing Ariel’s family members and attorneys demanding justice]
Alex: Ariel’s family said he was in good health when he entered, so they believe something happened on Rikers Island.
Jennifer said Ariel, when he was in the hospital, had peritonitis, which is swelling or inflammation in the abdomen area due to problems in the intestines or a burst appendix. It caused a bad infection and gangrene.
The NY Daily News reported that the attorney representing Ariel’s family said he also had a lacerated liver, which suggested either medical neglect in the jail or an assault.
Jennifer said Ariel’s family and friends and the community he grew up in Manhattan’s Lower East Side is mourning.
Jennifer Sanabria: Ariel’s father is Deaf. All of his four children, from the eldest (Kaylin, Jose (which is my son), Ariel (who died at 20, and Liam, are CODAs. They all can sign. My son Jose, Kaylin, and Ariel were very close and grew up together. They always hung out together. They had a good time and teased each other.
[Two family pictures of the young siblings]
Jennifer: Ariel’s father is Deaf. He told me that he’s absolutely grieving his death at only 20 years of age. In the jail system? They need to do better. He wants justice for his family.
[Image of Ariel’s father posing for a picture with Kaylin, who is wearing a dress. Ariel is standing next to them]
Jennifer: Angela, who is hard-of-hearing and can speak and sign well because her family is also Deaf (her parents are Deaf) was close to Ariel and she wants to share something.
Angela: I’m making this video for Ariel Quidone. I’m here to talk about my memories with him. I met him at work and when he came in, I just loved his personality. I loved his energy and his vibes. He loved to tease others. He was funny. Very friendly. I miss him. May he rest in peace.
Jennifer (holding a t-shirt honoring Ariel Quidone): As a small business owner, I made this shirt. I wanted to honor Ariel in my grief. I designed this shirt and I got emotional. I want to honor our family and friends by giving this shirt to them. There is a prayer on the back of the shirt to remind how much people loved him, miss him, and will never forget him forever. His memories with all of us are treasured. That’s what it says on the shirt.
Alex: Thank you for sharing, Jennifer.
She said she wants everyone to know that if your loved one is sent to Rikers Island, the same thing could happen to them. Jennifer said according to Ariel’s sister, Kaylin, the autopsy and investigation is pending with their lawyer monitoring the situation.
News reports said Ariel is the third person to die while in custody at Rikers Island this year.
Advocates told news outlets that they feel Rikers Island is avoiding responsibility by saying they released Ariel from custody when he went to the hospital.
There is a video of attorneys representing the Quidone family demanding justice.
[Video showing an attorney with the Quidone family saying, “…Just because you’re arrested doesn’t meant mean you get to die. Doesn’t mean you deserve the lack of treatment that they gave to Ariel. So we’re going to get the bottom of this. We’re going to get answers. The first thing we’re doing is we’re going to call on the attorney general’s office. We want them to investigate this fully and we want accountability…”]
Alex: There is a GoFundMe to support the Quidone family. The link is in the transcript. It said the family is trying to focus on healing and understanding how Ariel lost his life.
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-iglesias-quidone-family-in-grief
Articles:
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/03/18/nyc-man-died-after-8-days-at-rikers-went-in-healthy-family-says/
https://gothamist.com/news/manhattan-man-likely-died-of-appendicitis-hours-after-leaving-rikers-family-says
https://queenseagle.com/all/2025/3/19/rikers-detainee-becomes-third-to-die-in-less-than-a-month
Attorneys Video: https://www.facebook.com/100005231912444/videos/978363760941092