Man Wrongfully Accused Of Raping 4 Women Found Dead; Family Seeks Public Apology

A 36-year-old man in Las Vegas who was wrongfully accused of rape three years ago was found dead by his mother at his apartment this month. His family is now seeking a far-reaching public apology from police and the district attorney.

In 2018, Jesus Carvajal was arrested after Las Vegas police falsely accused him of raping four women by pretending to be a law enforcement officer. He was proven innocent two months later with the arrest of Tommy Lee Provost, who was charged with sexual assault, kidnapping and impersonating an officer, among many others.

Despite this, his family said things were never the same for Carvajal, the Las Vegas Sun reported. On June 2, he was found unresponsive at his apartment by his mother, Alejandrina Salazar Miranda, who visited her son when she didn't hear from him for three days, the report said. His cause of death was not indicated in the report.

“He couldn’t take it anymore,” Salazar Miranda said in Spanish while sobbing.

Carvajal’s brother, Pedro Carvajal, said his mother called him that day to tell him of his brother's passing, but she had been either laughing maniacally or crying.

“All I heard was ‘brother.’ She didn’t have to explain. I knew what happened,” he was quoted by the Las Vegas Sun as saying.

Following his arrest on Aug 10, 2018, Carvajal lost the home he was renting, his car, his job as a warehouse supervisor, his credit, girlfriend and friends. Carvajal’s booking photo and name spread widely across the internet. He was jailed for three weeks and spent additional time on house arrest.

When Provost was identified as the real assailant, the Clark County District Attorney’s Officer dropped Carvajal’s charges, but he told the Las Vegas Sun in 2019 that he was never able to get his lifestyle back. His job interviews would often get canceled, and though his family stood by him, friends distanced themselves.

It was the “most horrible eye-opener ever to realize how many people would turn on you,” Carvajal previously told the outlet.

Carvajal tried to get his life back on track and clear his name by reaching out to the media that he was proven innocent. However, authorities allegedly never announced the arrest of Provost the way they did Carvajal’s.

Following his death, his family said they plan to continue the lawsuit Carvajal filed in 2020 seeking compensation for his car, which was allegedly auctioned by police. The family also said they want a far-reaching public apology from police and the district attorney’s office.

The district attorney’s office said Carvajal’s case was no longer in its system, and thus, it can't comment on it. Meanwhile, Las Vegas police said the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Carvajal's family alleged that the case broke him and was to blame for his death. Following his arrest, Carvajal allegedly withdrew and installed cameras at his home and in his car. He also allegedly thought he was being chased by police and took license plate numbers from cars parked outside.

“The guy was loved, he was loved a lot more than he knew. That’s what makes it sad to see. ... It sucks, and it hurts like hell to know that my brother is gone, but it also makes me happy to know that he’s no longer hurting,” the San Francisco Chronicle quoted Pedro as saying.