The family of a man who died following a fire inside his prison cell in the Hudson Valley is now demanding answers about how he was killed. What began as a fire behind bars has turned into a case that his relatives say they cannot accept without a fuller explanation, and one that has drawn the attention of multiple state agencies looking into the circumstances of his death.
According to officials, the fire broke out on Saturday at Eastern Correctional Facility in Ulster County. Prison staff moved to put out the flames and managed to extinguish the fire inside the facility. Even so, the blaze proved to be far more serious than a contained incident, setting off an emergency response that would end with a man being rushed for medical care.
The man was identified as 35-year-old Marcos Alcaraz. After the fire, authorities say Alcaraz was taken to the hospital, where he later died from what he had suffered. His death transformed the incident from a prison fire into a fatality now being scrutinized by investigators trying to determine exactly what happened inside the cell.
Alcaraz had been serving time in the state system for years. Officials say he had been sentenced for his role in a 2010 robbery that turned deadly, and that he was serving a term of 24 years with a parole hearing date that had been set for 2030. He is survived by his sisters and by his 16-year-old daughter, who are now left grappling with his sudden death.
For his relatives, the grief has been sharpened by a lack of clear answers. Members of his family spoke of their anger and confusion, saying they simply want to know why and how this happened and describing the situation as negligent. One relative captured the fear that the death has spread, warning that what happened to their loved one today could happen to someone else tomorrow.
The death is now the subject of a formal investigation. Authorities say New York State Police, other state agencies and the attorney general are all looking into how Alcaraz died. As that review moves forward, his family is continuing to call for transparency about what led to the fire and what happened in the moments surrounding it inside the correctional facility.