Miguel Velasquez was a federal detainee awaiting trial when he hanged himself in Walpole's notorious 10-Block wing. His aunt, Victoria Pagan, who raised him, said she first heard that Velasquez had died from a friend who had heard the news on the radio. When Pagan got home from work, she said there was a message from the Department of Correction on her answering machine, urging her to call.

Velasquez was facing gun possession charges.