Attorneys said Nicholas Overfield first discovered he was HIV-positive when he was taken into custody at El Dorado County Jail in Northern California in 2017. In 2020, while he was living in the Lake Tahoe area, a doctor prescribed him Juluca, an antiretroviral drug crucial in controlling the virus and preventing life-threatening complications, according to excerpts of medical records reviewed by HuffPost.

However, when Overfield was arrested for failing to appear in court in February 2022 and detained at that same jail, he was denied the medication even though staff with Wellpath, the company contracted to provide health care at the jail, had received records from his doctor that he was taking it, according to an ongoing lawsuit brought by his mother, Lesley Overfield, against the company and El Dorado County. He died after 63 days in custody, before he was ever sentenced for the burglary charge to which he ultimately pleaded no contest. He was 38 years old.

He was just a good kid. He just did everything, and its just really sad that he didnt get to complete his life and do what he wanted to do, Lesley Overfield told HuffPost, describing her son as a kind, loving, generous father to two boys, ages 8 and 10.