Coroner IDs Woman, 24, Found Dead In Lake County Jail Cell

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A 24-year-old woman from Texas who was found dead in her cell at the Lake County Jail Friday afternoon has been identified as Khayla Evans of Grand Prairie.

An autopsy performed Monday revealed Evans had underlying medical conditions and that there were no significant injuries that appear to have caused her death, according to a news release from the coroner's office. A final cause of death will be determined following toxicology and further microbiology testing.

Evans was found unresponsive in her jail cell at about 2:30 p.m. Friday by a Lake County Sheriff's Office correctional officer, according to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The correctional officer noticed that her chest was not rising and immediately opened the cell's door to check her pulse.

Evans, who was behind bars on charges of aggravated battery to a child, did not have a pulse, according to the news release. Correctional officers performed CPR and used an automated external defibrillator on the inmate until paramedics arrived.

She was then taken to Vista East Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead.

The woman had been in custody since July 1, 2022, and was recently deemed by the courts unfit to stand trial. The jail was waiting for space to become available at the Illinois Department of Human Services to transfer her so she could receive fitness restoration treatment, according to police.

She was assigned to a single-inmate pod and there were no inmates in cells near her at the time of her death, according to authorities. Authorities doing rounds 30 minutes prior to finding her unresponsive in her cell say she appeared to be OK at that time, and there were no suspicious marks or injuries on her body.

According to the news release, the inmate had several underlying health conditions.

An autopsy will be performed by the Lake County Coroner's Office on Monday, and the cause of her death is being investigated by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.