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I guess he didn't have the breath. He said, 'Wanna die. Wanna be with Dad. Too hard.'" She also quoted him as saying "Chest hurts bad". Contreraz's mother, Julie Vega, also later stated that during his final conversation he had with his family, he coughed uncontrollably. Despite what would seem to be the alarming nature of this conversation, for whatever reason no apparent attempt was made to make sure that he received reliable medical attention, nor was any such attempt apparently made after
Contreraz spoke with Don Berg, his
326:, and when he faltered he would be shoved to the ground or punched. When he would pass out, the staff would throw water on him. It was also common for inmates at the facility to be denied the right to use the restroom, access only being allowed in the morning after breakfast, and in the evening after the completion of physical "training". He eventually reached a point of inability to control his bodily functions, soiling his clothes and mattress, which was moved into the
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newspaper that facility staff monitored the conversation which was held over speaker phone. They informed her that he had not eaten in a week but that it was not something to be concerned about. Woodward stated that "I asked Nickie, 'What's the matter, babe?' and he couldn't put sentences together.
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The
California Department of Economic Security issued a report the year of Contreraz's death and said there was a "pattern of abuse and neglect" at Arizona Boys Ranch, even while the authorities were investigating the institution, according to Linda Blessing, the agency's director. The institute was
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Nick
Contreraz's problems, according to his family, may have started with the death of his father, who was killed in a drive-by shooting that Nick witnessed. He ended up being removed from home and placed in foster care. He was then placed in his uncle's custody. On the day he died, he told staff
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siren. Despite his condition, Contreraz continued to be accused by staff of faking his condition, and at around 5:30 pm, collapsed for the last time. According to witnesses later interviewed by
Arizona Child Protective Services, after his final collapse and inability to move, Contreraz was
351:. The vomiting and soilings became frequent, and he stated that he was "hurting all over". When staff could tell that a soiling or regurgitation were imminent, they would mockingly count down "three, two, one..." They also told other inmates that Contreraz had
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denied a new license, because of "multiple violations of state law and rules". Investigators from the DES said that there 32 instances of abuse or neglect pertaining to
Contreraz, and that 17 different employees, including supervisors, had been guilty of them.
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members at the Boys Ranch that he had been sexually abused by a family member. He had stolen a car and then failed in rehab programs in
Sacramento, and thus ended up at the ranch in the Arizona desert, which is the "last resort" before the
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bathroom, where he was made to sleep in the clothes and on the mattress. Contreraz was ordered to drop his pants for the scrutiny of other inmates, and forced to eat his meals on the toilet. He was also forced to carry his
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ordered by staff to get up, to which he simply replied "No", which was his last spoken word. Contreraz was pronounced dead two hours later. He died that same evening from an infection that apparently had gone undiagnosed.
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uncovered that in five years almost a hundred complaints of abuse had been filed. There were reports that staff had hit a boy with a shovel, and that one boy was burned with hot water, and needed skin grafts.
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by Dr. Rutz during his second and final visit with her one month later on
February 8, but was forbidden to use them without the permission of facility staff. Around this time, Contreraz began experiencing
168:, and had historically enjoyed the support of prominent politicians. The schools received funding from the state of California, where law prohibits staff in its juvenile institutions to
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As his condition worsened, Contreraz's treatment became more extreme as staff members at the facility used physical exercises as a method of abuse, ordering him to do
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their wards, whereas the neighboring state of
Arizona does not. Contreraz had been optimistic about attending and was supposedly going to be able to earn
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On
February 27, a few days before he died, Contreraz was allowed to speak to his family on the telephone. His grandmother, Connie Woodward, later told
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for faking. He was thrown to the ground, forced to do push-ups, and bounced off a wall. Another boy was ordered to push him around in a
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On March 2, during physical training, Contreraz had fainted a number of times, with one staff member saying he deserved an
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Contreraz's death made national news in the United States, and while the staff escaped legal punishment due to
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The Oracle facility is closed, but the Queen Creek facility is now in operation again, under the name
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101:(January 15, 1982 – March 2, 1998) was an American 16-year-old from
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Contreraz was ordered to mimic the sound of an
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113:in 1998. Contreraz had been incarcerated at the
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575:"Boys Ranch case may be too big for county"
218:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
152:The Arizona Boys Ranch was a privately-run
472:Selcraig, Bruce (November–December 2000).
467:
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656:Violence against men in the United States
533:Prison Privatisation Report International
347:, over which the staff would make him do
238:Learn how and when to remove this message
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373:, help me, I need help, I need help..."
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216:adding citations to reliable sources
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16:American torture victim (1982–1998)
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651:Incidents of violence against boys
641:People from Sacramento, California
551:Barry Graham (September 3, 1998).
500:Wagner, Dennis (August 27, 1998).
311:, coughing, wheezing, and "moldy"
287:of temperatures over 100 degrees,
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621:Child murder in the United States
616:1998 murders in the United States
577:. Fortunecity.com. Archived from
441:"A Puzzling Death at Boys Ranch"
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636:Child abuse resulting in death
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180:Life at the Arizona Boys Ranch
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439:Cart, Julie (June 14, 1998).
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555:. Phoenixnewtimes.com
538:July 1, 2007, at the
446:The Los Angeles Times
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418:Canyon State Academy
361:The Arizona Republic
283:in weight, suffered
212:improve this section
176:credit while there.
166:juvenile delinquents
109:while attending the
170:physically restrain
99:Nicholaus Contreraz
73:Cause of death
35:Nicholaus Contreraz
25:Nicholaus Contreraz
158:residential school
115:residential school
111:Arizona Boys Ranch
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516:. Retrieved
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324:calisthenics
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256:Pinal County
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210:Please help
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89:victim at a
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611:1998 deaths
606:1982 births
474:"Camp Fear"
387:wheelbarrow
317:malingering
293:chest pains
174:high school
600:Categories
585:January 4,
559:January 4,
424:References
319:by staff.
305:dry heaves
160:system in
140:Background
105:, who was
57:1998-03-03
398:Aftermath
391:ambulance
313:body odor
264:elevation
199:does not
154:boot camp
536:Archived
349:push-ups
328:barracks
309:cyanosis
299:, rapid
297:sweating
277:diarrhea
268:inhalers
156:-styled
107:murdered
220:removed
205:sources
162:Arizona
55: (
285:fevers
281:pounds
273:nausea
260:asthma
252:Oracle
377:Death
341:feces
337:urine
333:vomit
301:pulse
587:2012
561:2012
520:2022
487:2022
454:2022
371:Lord
353:AIDS
339:and
275:and
203:any
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50:Died
31:Born
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