Hancock County sheriff identifies female prisoner who died in her jail cell
A corrections officer at the Hancock County jail found 33-year-old Lauren Lindsey Darnell dead in her jail cell in the early-morning hours Saturday, Sheriff Ricky Adam said.
Darnell died four days after she was taken into custody on a probation violation out of Jackson County.
An autopsy is scheduled Wednesday to determine the cause and manner of death.
There was no obvious sign of injury or any “suspicious circumstance,”, the sheriff said. In addition, he said, there was no indication the woman was suffering from coronavirus.
In an effort to prevent the introduction of coronavirus into Coast jails, officers are checking the temperatures of all new jail detainees.
After Darnell was found dead, the Sheriff’s Office called in the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations to do an independent investigation.
That investigation is continuing.
This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 4:56 PM.
