A 72-year-old woman was found dead in a holding cell at the Hall County Jail a week ago, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office confirmed Monday, and it appears she killed herself.
According to the incident report, a Flowery Branch police officer transported the woman to the jail after he arrested her on a DUI charge Aug. 29 placed in a holding cell to await booking.
“Jail officers found her unresponsive in the holding cell shortly after 1 a.m. and began life saving efforts,” sheriff’s office spokesman Derreck Booth said. “Jail nurses also responded to the cell. Hall County emergency personnel arrived at the jail and transported the woman to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville where she was pronounced deceased just before 2:15 a.m.”
The preliminary investigation determined the woman took the cord from the phone in her holding cell, wrapped it around her neck and choked herself.
The sheriff’s office contacted the GBI on the date the woman died, and it is leading the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.