Girl, 16, who died in the Harrison County jail was 1 of 4 accused in armed robbery, assault
A 16-year-old girl who died of a suspected suicide at the Harrison County jail had been arrested along with three other juveniles for armed robbery the day before her death, according to report from the D’Iberville Police Department.
The girl and three other minors were allegedly involved in a Jan. 10 armed robbery of another juvenile in an attempt to steal $50 and seven grams of marijuana, the report said.
One of the juveniles is accused of hitting the victim in the back of the head with a bat at the time, the report said. The victim was taken to a local hospital with a preliminary diagnosis of a fractured skull.
The Sun Herald filed a records request with the D’Iberville Police Department to obtain information about the incident.
The investigation began after a witness called police to report seeing one of the accused allegedly assaulting the victim near a vacant lot in the area of Biglin Bayou Drive and then jumped in a gray 4-door sedan with the other juveniles.
D’Iberville police took the juveniles into custody the following day. They were taken to the Harrison County jail, and charged with felony armed robbery.
The evening of Jan. 12, a jailer at the Harrison County jail found one of the minor suspects hanging in an individual cell where she was being held, Harrison County Sheriff Matt Haley said.
She was pronounced dead at the scene and laid to rest Wednesday.
The Sheriff’s Department reported the in-custody death at the jail to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to determine if any criminal wrongdoing occurred.
The sheriff called what happened to the girl “unfortunate” but said “these sorts of things happen.”
That investigation is ongoing.
This story was originally published January 25, 2024 at 5:23 PM.
