RADFORD, Va. – A Radford student’s death has been ruled an accident after he was found dead in his cell at the New River Valley Regional Jail in September.
Aris Eduardo Lobo-Perez, 18, died from acute buprenorphine toxicity, or opioid toxicity, compounded by acute and chronic asthma, according to the medical examiner. His death has officially been ruled an accident.
18-year-old Lobo-Perez had just started his college career when it ended three months ago.
Below is a timeline released by Virginia State Police:
- Late Wednesday, Sept. 11: Radford University police responded to a call at a campus facility concerning Lobo-Perez.
- Shortly before midnight Thursday: Police took him into custody and charged him with public intoxication before he was transported by campus police to New River Valley Regional Jail.
- Around 7:20 a.m. Thursday: Jail personnel approached Lobo-Perez to offer him breakfast, which he declined.
- Around 7:50 a.m. Thursday: Jail personnel found Lobo-Perez unresponsive in his cell. Authorities say jail personnel tried to resuscitate Lobo-Perez immediately, but he was declared dead at the jail.
Lobo-Perez’s death originally left family members with more questions than answers.
“What happened to my son? I will die, I will fight for my son, to find the truth,” Lobo-Perez’s mother, Dixiana Perez, said. “I just want to know what happened to my baby.”
“It’s hard, just because he’s only been there for a few weeks and I know he was happy about starting a new chapter,” Lobo-Perez’s sister, Jennifer Turcios, said.
At a yard sale to benefit Lobo-Perez’s family, a friend, Joey Fernandez, described him as a funny guy.
"He always just loved to have fun. His laugh, his jokes, everything about him was just really good," Fernandez said.
In a statement, Radford University’s vice president of student affairs expressed sympathy for Lobo-Perez’s family and friends.