Son’s death moved him to improve mental health response; Irvo Otenio’s death left him questioning progress | WTVR

RICHMOND, Va. — State Senator Creigh Deeds (D – Charlottesville), a longtime advocate for the improvement of Central State Hospital and the behavioral health resources it offers, has spoken out about the death of 28-year-old Irvo Otenio, a mental health patient admitted there March 6.

Otenio’s story is personal to the senator.

Deeds’ son, who lived with mental health issues, brutally stabbed his father and then died by suicide in 2013.