Nearly four months after Mustaffa Jackson died in custody at Delaware County’s George W. Hill Correctional Facility, precious little has been revealed about his death. County officials say it was a “delayed homicide,” in which he survived a gunshot prior to being incarcerated that would ultimately contribute to his death on Feb. 12, but those officials have offered no other information.

Although delayed homicide cases are unusual, they are also not unheard of. But their unusual nature also presents a host of questions and requires broad transparency. And in this case, Jackson appears to have no kin in the area who can seek justice for him after his passing.

County officials have declined to voluntarily provide any information about the incident including even the victim’s name, which was only learned after Broad + Liberty obtained documents through a Right-to-Know request.

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Court documents show Jackson was placed into the prison’s custody on Dec. 19, 2022, meaning he lived 55 days in custody before succumbing to the gunshot wound blamed for his death. It’s unclear how many total days he survived the wound because county officials have not indicated when exactly he was believed to have been shot.

Another document shows that chest compressions on Jackson did not begin until five minutes after the emergency was first called by prison staff.

When Broad + Liberty first confirmed through county officials in March that the inmate — at that time, name unknown — was given a cause of death as “delayed homicide,” we put numerous questions to the county, such as:

• When, where, and under what circumstances was Jackson shot? By whom?
• Did he complain about complications at any point of his incarceration?
• Was he candid with prison staff about his injury?
• Is Jackson’s convicted or alleged murderer known, and in custody?
• If not, is there a known suspect in his murder?

Broad + Liberty also put those questions to the county again this week, but the county has refused to divulge any information through the entire time. The county also did not answer a question on whether the five-minute interval to start CPR on Jackson was acceptable.

Delayed homicide deaths can create a host of other legal difficulties, such as issues with statutes of limitations, or jurisdictional problems…

Another document obtained in the Right-to-Know request shows three full pages of redacted communications as the county worked to respond to Broad + Liberty‘s original inquiry on the death.

Additionally, Broad + Liberty asked the Delaware County District Attorney’s office of Jack Stollsteimer if it was investigating Jackson’s death, if a suspect was known, or if someone was in custody for the murder. The DA’s office has twice refused to offer any information.

County officials have also denied a Right-to-Know request for Jackson’s autopsy, and that denial is now being appealed to the Office of Open Records.

A Delaware Court document indicates Jackson faced charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, possession of a weapon, and a small number of other minor charges.

He was residing in Upper Darby and was 25 years old when he died.

Jackson was at least the fifth inmate to die in the George W. Hill Correctional facility since the government took over day-to-day management of the facility from a private contractor in April of 2022. Three of the other deaths were suicides, and one was a homicide in which an inmate was killed by his cellmate.

Delayed homicide deaths can create a host of other legal difficulties, such as issues with statutes of limitations, or jurisdictional problems if the injury was sustained somewhere other than where the person died.

Todd Shepherd is Broad + Liberty’s chief investigative reporter. Send him tips at tshepherd@broadandliberty.com, or use his encrypted email at shepherdreports@protonmail.com. @shepherdreports