Lanekia Michelle Brown, a 37-year-old woman whose family says was three to four weeks pregnant, has died in a Mississippi jail after complaining of stomach pains.
Brown was at the Madison County Detention Center awaiting trial on charges of marijuana trafficking. On Sunday, December 23, a Mississippi Highway Patrol Officer came to Margaret Johnson’s home to inform her that her daughter had died in police custody. Johnson told WJTV that the trooper said Brown had complained of stomach pains, and staff had called a nurse.
"They did CPR on her over and over... still didn't get no response... So he just said she was gone,” Johnson says she was told.
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Aside from her early pregnancy, Brown’s family says she had no health problems and they are suspicious about the circumstances surrounding her death. "It's very suspicious because like I said we talked to her and she was okay. If she had any kind of problems, she would have let us know," another family member told reporters.
Brown leaves behind two children. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations will take over the case and the results of an autopsy are pending.
Brown's death comes shortly after a 61-year-old Texas grandmother, Janice Dotson Stephens died in a Texas jail while being held on a $300 bond.
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