BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – An inmate died inside the Bexar County Adult Detention Center five days after she was booked, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Thursday.
Elizabeth Anne Nero, 57, experienced a medical episode inside her assigned housing area, according to BCSO. An onsite University Health team responded. Nero’s vitals were stabilized, but the sheriff’s office said she needed additional attention.
Once EMS arrived to the Bexar County jail, Nero became unresponsive, BCSO said. She was pronounced dead inside the jail at 5:31 p.m.
Nero’s death is believed to be related to “drug dependency or detox issues,” according to the sheriff’s office. The Castle Hills Police Department will lead the investigation into Nero’s death.
Additionally, BCSO will conduct a separate investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
Nero was arrested last Friday on a state felony drug charge in addition to a failure to identify charge, a Class A misdemeanor, jail records show. She was booked into the Bexar County jail the following day (May 30).
According to a KSAT Investigates analysis, Nero’s death is the fourth Bexar County jail inmate death this year.
In February, Tammy Hovland, 59, died three weeks after she was attacked by her cellmate at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center. Hovland sustained head injuries as a result of the assault.
Another inmate, later identified as Joshua Aaron Reyes, died by suicide in April. At the time, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said Reyes was found unresponsive in his cell by a BCSO supervisor conducting security checks.
Last month, Casandra Monette Pearson, 29, died at a local hospital following a suspected medical episode.
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