A Rikers Island inmate behind bars for allegedly slashing a stranger with a boxcutter died in custody this week – marking the city’s first detainee death in 2025, officials and sources said. Ramel Powell,

The city Department of Correction said it was still investigating the death and had no further details on how the person died.

A 37-year-old man died in a city jail on Rikers Island early Wednesday, in the first death in the system in 2025, according to officials and sources. The man, identified by sources as Ramel

A 38-year-old man named Ramel Powell became the first person to die on Rikers Island in 2025. The Department of Correction said he was found dead inside the Otis Bantm Correctional Center early Wednesday morning. AP file photo by Ted Shaffrey

A Rikers Island jail complex inmate died while in custody on Wednesday morning, marking the first detainee death so far in 2025, according to the New York City Department of Correction.