Authorities are investigating the recent death of an inmate at the Weber County jail.
Initial evidence indicates the person who died suffered a “medical episode that was not self-inflicted,” the Weber County Sheriff’s Office said in a new release.
The inmate was found unresponsive in their cell at about 5:45 p.m. on Friday but authorities announced the death Tuesday evening.
The person who died was not immediately identified. The Weber County attorney’s office is heading the death investigation. No further information was released.
This marked the third reported death of a person in Weber County custody within the past three months:
• On June 28, an inmate being held at a longterm health care facility suffered a medical episode. They were taken to a hospital, where they died, according to the Weber County Sheriff’s Office.
• On April 29, a deputy found another inmate “unresponsive” in their cell. Authorities said medical personnel responded to render aid, but the person was pronounced dead. No further info was released.
In 2014, Utah had the highest rate of county inmate deaths in the nation, and between 2014 and February 2017 more than half of the 56 known deaths in Utah jails were suicides.
