Death of the woman in the Tarrant County prison custody through dehydration, medical examiner rules

A woman in the district custody of Tarrant County died of dehydration and malnutrition in February in February.

Kimberly Phillips, 56, died on February 18, after spending days at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

At the time of her death, the Sheriff's office said the Tarrant County that Phillips was brought to JPS on February 15, but did not state why. Their medical details became part of an open examination.

Phillips was arrested on January 24 by the Grand Prairie Police Department for outstanding crime commands and brought to Tarrant County prison the next day. It was placed in medical apartments under 24-hour observation and care throughout the entire time.

The lawyer of her family, Chidi Anunobi, said in a statement on March 5 that Phillips, a vegetarian, was said to have been fed for several days.

On Monday, Anunobi said in a new explanation that the autopsy report was a “clear indication” of negligence by the Sheriff's office of the Tarrant County.

“Tarrant County continues to show a lack of compassion and abdication of responsibility in Kimberly's death, which in the various cases of inmates death and abuse that occurred in Tarrant County unfortunately corresponds to his history,” said Anunobi in the explanation. “That has to stop! The family will not give up and is determined to hold Tarrant County accountable.”

Kera contacted the sheriff's office to get a comment.

Phillips' family plans to submit two lawsuits in connection with their death in the coming weeks.

There were at least three other people who died in Tarrant County Hustody despite the access to water.

The former deputy deputy chief Charles Eckert said in an ongoing complaint that all occupants had access to water around the clock, and it was not a problem as long as they were made available to them.

“The Sheriff's department cannot hold people and force water into their mouths, they have to make a conscious decision to go to the sink and drink water,” Eckert told WFAA.

One of the deaths of dehydration was 52-year-old Georgia Kay Baldwin, who died on September 14, 2021.

Baldwin died of severe hypernatremia, an imbalance of sodium, that Usually the dehydration resultsDespite a water well in their cell. During her months she showed in custody signs of serious mental illnesses, Kera previously reported.

Tarrant County offered a payout of 750,000 US dollars to her family last year after her sons filed a lawsuit.

Deaths and allegations of abuse in the Tarrant County prison have cost the district district districts of dollars since 2022.

Do you have a tip? E -mail Megan Cardona under mcardona@kera.org.

Kera News is made possible by the generosity of our members. If you find this report valuable, you should consider Make a tax deductible today. Thank you very much!