Mom Dies in Agony After Jail Dismisses Her Pain as ‘Junk Food Indigestion
Melissa de la Cruz wasn’t supposed to die in jail. She was a mother, a sister, a daughter — someone who was loved and needed. But instead of receiving care during a medical emergency, she was mocked, dismissed, and ultimately ignored as her body gave out inside a Texas jail cell.
Now, her children are demanding answers and accountability.
In a heartbreaking lawsuit filed this month, Melissa’s family alleges that staff at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center brushed off her cries for help, blaming her excruciating pain on nothing more than Hot Cheetos, Takis, and pickles — snacks that had nothing to do with what was really happening to her.
Melissa, 45, was booked into the jail in March 2023. According to the lawsuit, she began complaining of severe stomach pain shortly afterward. But instead of treating her condition as an emergency, guards and staff allegedly laughed it off, suggesting her diet of spicy junk food was to blame.
But the truth was much more dire.
She wasn’t dealing with indigestion. Melissa was suffering from a gallbladder infection that became gangrenous — a painful, rapidly spreading condition that led to full-blown sepsis. Her body was shutting down. And still, the lawsuit says, her suffering was ignored.
Even when her vital signs were dangerously abnormal, jail officials didn’t call an ambulance. Instead, they allegedly put her in a county vehicle and drove her to the hospital, delaying urgent treatment in what the family calls a money-saving move.
When she finally arrived at Edinburg Regional Hospital, doctors found her condition was critical. Her gallbladder was necrotic. Her lungs were partially collapsed. Her organs were failing.
Despite the medical team’s efforts, it was too late.
On April 22, 2023, Melissa was taken off life support. Her three children were left to mourn a mother who had begged for help and didn’t get it.
“She died in pain,” said the family in a statement. “And nobody listened.”
The lawsuit also accuses jail officials of failing to report her death to the state, a move that may have been intended to avoid scrutiny. Her children believe their mother was “dumped” at the hospital so her death wouldn’t count against the jail’s official record.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office has not commented on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. But the family’s legal team says the jail had no full-time medical staff and failed to meet even the most basic standards of inmate healthcare.
Melissa’s story is part of a broader problem, civil rights advocates say. Across the U.S., jail deaths linked to ignored medical complaints continue to surface — many involving women and people of color, like Melissa, who face systemic neglect behind bars.
“She wasn’t sentenced to death,” her attorney said. “She was in jail, not a hospital, and when she begged for help, they treated her like a joke.”
Now, her children want more than justice — they want change.
Pulkeet Gupta is a dedicated content writer specializing in the field of education and entertainment niche. With a passion for learning and a keen interest in sharing knowledge, Pulkeet has established himself as a prominent figure in the education and entertainment writing community.
