A woman died in the El Paso County Jail on Friday, according to the sheriff’s office.
The woman, who has not been publicly identified, was “found unresponsive” in her cell at about 5:02 p.m. Friday, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Jail personnel and medical staff administered “medical care,” the release said, but the woman did not survive.
The woman’s name and age will be released by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office.
The jail is currently facing a lawsuit that claims the jail’s contracted medical provider, Wellpath, has failed to provide adequate medical care to inmates. The lawsuit is one of many outlining similar allegations against Wellpath.
As of October, eight people had died in the jail during 2022, according to the sheriff’s office.
Of those deaths, the coroner determined four people died of natural causes, two deaths were accidental and related to illicit drug use, and one person died by suicide. The cause of the eighth death was not immediately available Sunday but officials previously said heart disease may have contributed to that death.
