Demetrius (negro)

Demetrius was a Confederate black man and inmate of Camp Determination.

In 1942 he asked Hipolito Rodriguez what had happened to the prisoners from Jackson, Mississippi. Rodriguez stuck to the cover story that some had been shipped to El Paso and others to Lubbock. Demetrius said he had heard otherwise, that they had been killed. Rodriguez denied it and demanded to know Demetrius' barracks number. Demetrius gave it (number 27) and then quickly left when Rodriguez gestured with his sub-machinegun.

Rodriguez reported this conversation to the officer of the watch who, in turn, reported it to his superiors. Four days later, Barracks 27 was cleaned out and its occupants told they were being shipped to El Paso. Demetrius hung back and told Rodriguez he didn't want to go. Rodriguez spoke with Chief Assault Leader Higbe, who was in charge of the operation, and then told Demetrius to come with him for questioning. When they left the prison compound and disappeared from view around the guard barracks, Rodriguez shot Demetrius in the back of the head killing him instantly.