A woman who died in Tarrant County Jail custody in December had “multiple genetic abnormalities” that led to her death by natural causes, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed Thursday.
Shuntae Broadus, 40, died on Dec. 21 after being found unresponsive in her jail cell and was transported to John Peter Smith Hospital, where she died later that day. The report comes nearly six months after her death.
The medical examiner did not provide additional details or specifics on the “abnormalities.”
KERA News reached out to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office and the medical examiner, and will update this story with any response.
A previously released custodial death report — which is required to be sent to the Attorney General’s office within 30 days of an inmate’s death— indicated Broadus may have also had mental health problems.
The sheriff's office said at the time she had been in custody since Aug. 3 after a robbery arrest by the Arlington Police Department.
There's been at least 74 reported deaths at the jail since Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office in 2017, according to the sheriff's office — although the number of in-custody deaths annually has gone down.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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