21-year-old died in Quebec prison over untreated ear infection, family believes

The death of a 21-year-old in a Montreal prison in December went unreported, garnering no headlines, but his family says it was needless—and that Quebecers should know about the kind of troubling prison conditions they believe led to it.

Damien Théroux died on Dec. 17 in Bordeaux provincial prison. It was a drug overdose, said his father and his girlfriend. But even though he smoked pot in prison, he hadn’t routinely been taking pills.

A few days before his death, Damien told his father that he had developed an ear infection. It got more painful, but he still wasn’t taken to Bordeaux’s infirmary, telling his father that he wasn’t permitted to go because of COVID-19 problems, perhaps restrictions or perhaps understaffing.

“He had that [ear infection] for about three or four days prior to his death,” his father, Daniel Théroux, told CTV News.

“I’m pretty sure, because he had no access to medical health, he tried to self-medicate to relieve pain from his ear infection. I think that’s the reason he died.”