NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A Rikers Island inmate died while in custody on Monday, marking the second in-custody death of 2025, less than a week after the death of another inmate, according to the New York City Department of Correction.
Terrence Moore, 55, experienced a fatal “medical emergency" while awaiting a scheduled court appearance at Manhattan Criminal Court, according to the agency.
Moore, who had been housed at the North Infirmary Command, suffered a seizure in a holding area while in custody. Correction staff immediately administered medical aid until EMS arrived, officials said.
Despite efforts to revive him, Moore was pronounced dead at 4:52 p.m.
“Our deepest sympathies are with the loved ones of Mr. Moore,” Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie said in a statement. “We will fully investigate this tragic event to determine the circumstances surrounding his death.”
The DOC stated that it had notified the federal monitor, Board of Correction, New York State Attorney General’s Office, State Commission of Correction, and the city’s Department of Investigation—a standard procedure for in-custody deaths.
Moore was one of two suspects charged in the murder of 74-year-old Maria Hernandez. She was discovered dead in her Upper West Side apartment, her hands and feet bound together behind her back. Moore faces charges of aggravated sexual abuse, burglary, and robbery, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Moore’s attorney, Glenn Hardy, told Gothamist that he had waived Moore’s scheduled court appearance on Monday, meaning he did not meet with his client before learning of his death from jail officials.
Hardy said he was unaware of any underlying health conditions. The two last spoke via video conference earlier this month, he noted.
“He’s been my client for two years at this point,” Hardy said. “He was always very pleasant to me. He didn’t complain about anything or say, ‘Hey, I need medication,’ other than complaining about the food.”
Hardy also said he was unsure why Moore had been housed at the Rikers infirmary, though he noted that jail staff sometimes transfer detainees for different reasons.
Last week, another detainee Ramel Powell, 38, was pronounced dead at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, officials said. Powell had been in custody for 19 months, though the cause of his death remains unclear.
Maginley-Liddie previously stated that the department is conducting a full investigation into Powell’s death.
Five people died last year in the department’s custody or shortly after release, according to the Board of Correction, but Moore is the 35th person to die while in custody during the Adams administration.
By order of a 2019 city law, Rikers Island is slated to close by the end of August 2027 and have its function replaced by four borough jails in what the city has called a “historic decarceration plan.” Facilities are being built in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, though it is unclear whether the mandate will be met.
Rikers Island has been heavily criticized and is facing federal takeover in the form of federal receivership due to long-standing allegations of violence and dilapidated conditions. A decision by a federal judge could allow the Justice Department to directly oversee it.