An incarcerated man was found unresponsive in his cell at the Allegheny County Jail this week, and he was pronounced dead shortly after.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has identified him as 39-year-old Victor Joseph Zilinek. A cause or manner of death was not released.
Zelinik is the fourth incarcerated individual to die at the jail this year. There have been 15 deaths at the jail since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Allegheny County Councilor at-large Bethany Hallam is a member of the Jail Oversight Board and a formerly incarcerated individual. She tweeted her condolences on July 13 when the death was first announced.
“Another life stolen inside the walls of the death trap that is the Allegheny County Jail,” wrote Hallam.I don’t even have words anymore. This breaks my heart.”
