Riverside County Inmate Found Dead, 8th Detainee Death In 4 Months

MURRIETA, CA — An investigation was underway Thursday into the death of a male inmate at the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta. The case follows at least seven other inmate deaths reported since late April in Riverside County.

At 11:28 p.m. Wednesday, Riverside County sheriff's deputies assigned to the Murrieta jail were called to the inmate's cell. The man, whose identity was not released, was unresponsive so jail personnel began performing life-saving measures on him, according to the sheriff's department.

A Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department crew also responded to assist. Despite the efforts, the inmate died at the scene just after midnight, according to the sheriff's department.

There were no signs of foul play and the coroner is investigating the inmate's cause of death, according to the department.

The incident marks the eighth inmate death that the sheriff's department has publicly reported over the last four months, and authorities said foul play was not suspected in any of the cases. Few of the inmate identities have been released.

During the afternoon of July 11, a male inmate was found dead in his cell at Riverside's Robert Presley Detention Center. Life-saving measures were unsuccessful, the sheriff's department reported.

On June 20, a female inmate died at Banning's Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility. Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and Cal Fire personnel responded to a housing unit in the correctional facility at 5:12 a.m. to the unresponsive inmate. Jail medical staff administered life-saving measures, but she was pronounced dead at 5:52 a.m.

An inmate suffered an unspecified medical emergency and died May 26 at the Murrieta jail. The detainee was discovered unconscious in his cell at about 5:40 p.m., according to sheriff's Capt. David Holm.

Holm said correctional deputies and in-house medical personnel attempted life-saving measures until county fire paramedics reached the location, but all of the resuscitative efforts were for naught. The inmate was pronounced dead at 5:59 p.m.

On that same day in May, an inmate was pronounced dead at Indio's John Benoit Detention Center. Sheriff's deputies were notified at 7:43 a.m about an unresponsive male inmate in his cell. Custody and jail medical staff responded and administered life-saving measures. Fire department personnel and American Medical Response assisted further but were unsuccessful, according to the sheriff's department. The inmate was pronounced dead at 8:15 a.m., according to the sheriff's department.

Less than 10 days earlier, an inmate was pronounced dead May 17 at the Murrieta jail facility.
Justin Lee Kail, 31, of French Valley was discovered unresponsive in his cell at 8:37 a.m. Despite life-saving measures, he was pronounced dead just before 9 a.m., according to the sheriff's department.

Abel Cruz, 75, of Norwalk was housed at Banning's jail facility and died May 1 after being transported to a local hospital on April 14 for unspecified medical treatment, the sheriff's department reported.

Alicia Upton, 21, of San Jacinto was being held at the Riverside jail when she was found unresponsive in her cell at 8:35 p.m. April 28. County jail staff performed life-saving measures, and Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department crews continued the effort when they arrived at the jail, but the woman was ultimately pronounced dead at 9:12 p.m., the sheriff's department reported.

All four county jails are operated by the sheriff's department. While Cruz died at an area hospital, it's unclear whether any of the other inmates were alone in their cells.