On Saturday morning, February 7, the Grayson County Coroner was dispatched to the detention center to investigate the death of Angela Downs, 23, of Pleasant Run Road, Falls of Rough.
According to a report by Grayson County Sheriff’s Detective Terry Blanton, Downs had been arrested on Friday afternoon along with Robert K. Burden,37, also of Pleasant Run Road, after being stopped for a traffic violation.
An investigation led to the K-9 Unit from the Grayson County Detention Center being called to the scene and the two occupants of the vehicle being placed under arrest and taken to the detention center.
Downs was charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine precursor, first and drug paraphernalia first offense.
Burden was charged with trafficking a controlled substance first degree, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and use and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Downs, was undergoing medical treatment at the detention center and was found Saturday after she hanged herself with the IV tubing that was being used to treat her.
“We found no foul play,” said the Grayson County Coroner Joe Brad Hudson. “She was on a medical watch when she was found.”
The family of Downs has questions that are unanswered and are unsure where to turn for those answers.
“We just have questions we want answers to and can not get them answered,” said Down’s father Mike Downs.
When asked for a statement about the incident Grayson County Jailer referred the News-Gazette to the state police for a report of the death.
Nine months earlier on May 1, 2008, a Tennessee man was found dead in the bathroom of the detention center.
According to a report from the detention center, at approximately 7:45 a.m., an inmate at the center notified deputies that he had discovered the body of Tomie Eugene Payne, age 61, of Columbia, Tennessee, in the bathroom of cell 312 in the main facility on Shaw's Station Road.
Jail officials entered the shower area of the restroom and found Payne hanging by the neck from a string connected to an air vent, reported Kentucky State Trooper Davy Norris.
she was a sincere person, and she was a good person...This should not have been allowed to happen... and this county needs to fix their issues not only in the jail, but also in the court system...I hope that people around here understand the pain that her family is going through. I miss u angela.. RIP...
A person who is classified as an addict when incarcerated should automatically be added to "suicide watch" since the withdrawal process as described in medical journals is as such:
Meth Withdrawal symptoms included but are not limited to:
* fatigue
* long, disturbed periods of sleep
* irritability
* intense hunger
* moderate to severe depression
* psychotic reactions
* anxiety
Narcotic withdrawal, length and severity of depression is related to how much and how often narcotic was used. Withdrawal symptoms including, cravings, exhaustion, depression, mental confusion, restlessness, insomnia, deep or disturbed sleep, may last up to 48 hours.
So my dear "a_kycat"... maybe 15-20 minutes is too long... since it is also documented that hanging only takes 3-5 minutes to cause death.