Félix Nieves Castro, a 49-year-old inmate from Lares, was found dead on Friday afternoon at the Complejo Correccional Sgto. Pedro Rodríguez Mateo (Las Cucharas) in Ponce. Nieves Castro was serving a life sentence for the murder of his three minor children, aged 4, 2, and 1, who died in a fire at their residence in Lares in December 2003.
He was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated arson. According to the police report, a preventive round found Nieves Castro unresponsive in his cell, and the on-duty doctor certified the absence of vital signs with an undetermined cause. The body did not show visible signs of violence.
Agents Fernando Tarafa from the Homicide Division and prosecutor Jorge Martínez are investigating. Nieves Castro's death occurred while he was serving his sentence at the correctional facility.