Woman, 43, dies inside Snohomish County Jail, sixth death since September

EVERETT — An inmate died in her cell at the Snohomish County Jail on Wednesday, the sixth death inside the jail in the past 12 months.

Around 11:15 a.m., a corrections deputy and inmate worker were delivering lunch to inmates. They found a woman, 43, unresponsive in her single-occupancy cell, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. The woman was not in the downtown Everett jail’s medical detox unit.

Jail staff began lifesaving measures, but she died inside her cell, according to the sheriff’s office. It was unclear what caused her death.

Monroe police booked the woman into jail Monday for investigation of possession of a controlled substance, carrying a firearm without a permit, driving with a suspended license and possession of contraband in a correctional institution, police said. Her bail was set at $1,500.

The woman is the sixth inmate to die inside the Snohomish County Jail since September.

In May, Terry Crusha, 51, died after being found unresponsive inside the jail’s medical detox unit, intended to monitor inmates withdrawing from opiates, benzodiazepines or alcohol. The cause and manner of his death were still under investigation Wednesday, according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Of the six deaths, three were within the medical detox unit. In January, Snohomish County Sheriff Susanna Johnson announced a plan to put cameras monitoring the unit in hopes of preventing more inmate deaths.

Under a recent state law, authorities must conduct a review of unexpected deaths inside the jail, including an analysis of the root cause and recommendations to prevent them from happening in the future. The findings must be submitted to the state Department of Health within 120 days.

The medical examiner’s office will determine the cause and manner of the latest death, as well as the identity of the deceased.

Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @snocojon.