The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the death of an inmate at the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
On Friday, March 21, 2025, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez says shortly after 12:15 p.m., members of the Hudson County Correctional Facility located an unresponsive inmate, a man, in his cell in the medical unit.
Officers and onsite medical personnel immediately rendered aid to the inmate, later identified as Derrick Ellis, 63, of Jersey City, who was transported to Jersey City Medical Center and pronounced dead at about 1:20 p.m.
In accordance with guidelines by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, the NJOAG was immediately notified. This matter remains under investigation.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.