DUBLIN, Calif. - A 36-year-old Oakland woman has died at Santa Rita Jail, the fourth person to die in custody at the Dublin facility this year.
Found with ‘ligature’ around neck
What we know:
Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Roberto Morales identified the woman as Jessica Watson, a woman who was arrested by Hayward police on Oct. 10 on suspicion of domestic violence and driving under the influence.
Three days later, on Oct. 13, deputies found Watson just after 8:30 p.m. seated on the lower bunk of her cell. She didn't respond to them, Morales said, and deputies entered her cell to see what appeared to be a "ligature around her neck."
Morales did not specify what was around her neck.
Morales said deputies tried to save her as she had a pulse.
Crews took Watson to the hospital, but she died on Oct. 22 about 5:30 p.m., Morales said. During that time period, Morales said her family was notified that she was in the hospital, and she was technically released from custody while in the hospital.
Official cause of death to be determined
What we don't know:
The official cause of death will be determined by the forensic pathologist.
Watson is the 79th person to die in custody since 2014, according to data compiled by KTVU.
Change of policy
Big picture view:
The sheriff's office made clear in its statement to the public that deputies entered the cell to check on Watson when she wasn't responding to their inquiries.
This is a clear change from when Maurice Monk of Oakland lay languishing in his cell at Santa Rita for roughly three days in 2021 before he was discovered dead, with food trays and bodily fluids surrounding him.
The deputies had not performed a meaningful welfare check on him, the sheriff's office later acknowledged, as a result of a civil lawsuit that resulted in $7 million for Monk's family and reform policies at the jail.
The Source: Information for this story comes from the Alameda County Sheriff's office, and prior KTVU reporting.