The death of an inmate at the Uintah County jail “appears to be self-inflicted," according to authorities.
Julia Keebler, 30, of Jensen, was found unresponsive in her cell Tuesday. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 5:30 p.m.
According to the Uintah County Sheriff's Office, Keebler “had just returned to her cell from a court hearing. She was discovered a short time later by correctional staff.”
The cause of death remains under investigation, pending an autopsy and toxicology screening by the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office.
Keebler was arrested Dec. 12 for investigation of theft, a second-degree felony, and forgery, a third-degree felony. According to court documents, on Dec. 11 she stole both an ATV and the title to the vehicle, and altered the title to include her name.
Keebler had a long criminal history dating back to 2006, with multiple charges of theft, burglary and traffic violations, along with obstructing justice, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, attempted criminal trespass and several drug- and alcohol-related charges.
She had been held in the jail for five days at the time of her death. A recent report on inmate deaths compiled by Utah’s Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice focused on two findings. First, about half of those inmates died by suicide, and a majority of deaths occurred within a week of a person being arrested and put in jail.
The investigation into Keebler’s death is being conducted by the Wasatch Back Major Crimes Taskforce, which is comprised of agents from the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, the Heber City Police Department, the Park City Police Department and the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
