Man who died in Mecklenburg jail was accused of killing woman on Easter 2023
One month after a man died inside Mecklenburg Detention Center, jail and court records obtained by The Charlotte Observer reveal his name and journey through Charlotte’s justice system.
The 38-year-old who died Aug. 6 was Miguel Angel Gonzalez-Rasalas, according to a North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services report. At the time of his death, it had been nearly a year since a forensic psychologist found him incapable to proceed in his case.
For some, an Observer investigation previously found, jail purgatory like his can last more than 10 years.
Gonzalez-Rasalas was charged with murder, desecrating a body and auto theft in a gruesome 2023 Easter Sunday homicide. He’s been in jail since.
According to search warrants, Gonzalez-Rasalas’ brother called police after he saw blood outside his apartment and found a woman — Laura Miller — dead and desecrated inside. The brother recognized Miller but told police she didn’t live in Gonzalez-Rasalas’ apartment.
Police arrested Gonzalez-Rasalas on April 9, 2023. He was driving Miller’s car.
His case was repeatedly continued and never progressed much past his April 2023 indictment.
After four continuances, Chief Superior Court Judge Carla Archie in December 2023 ordered Gonzalez-Rasalas be mentally evaluated to figure out if he could proceed in his case. Almost a year later, a forensic psychologist told Superior Judge Robert Bell that Gonzalez-Rasalas was “incapable to proceed” and “probably has an intellectual disability,” according to December court documents.
So Bell issued an order sending him back to Mecklenburg County Detention Center, this time to the NC-RISE Capacity Restoration Program.
That’s the last file in Gonzalez-Rasalas’ case.
Nine months after he was sent to the 10-bed unit in Mecklenburg jail, deputies found Gonzalez-Rasalas unresponsive on Aug. 6 at 12:06 p.m. Jailers had last observed Gonzalez-Rasalas at 11:58 a.m., according to the NCDHHS report.
The Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office, which had not released his name, also did not say how they believe he may have died.
The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death.
Observer reporter Ryan Oehrli contributed to this report.
