Last Updated on August 6, 2023, 3:06 AM | Published: April 24, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma County Detention Center (Jail) detainee was being treated at a local hospital when she died from what jail officials call a “fall.”
This is the 6th detainee death for the jail in 2023. It is also the 3rd death of a detainee in four days.
- Amber Owens died at the hospital at approximately 4:15 a.m. Monday.
“We were informed by the contracted law enforcement officer who was guarding Owens, that she sustained an injury after a fall within the hospital facility,” said jail Public Infomormation Officer Mark Opegrande in a news release.
According to Opgrande, efforts were made by hospital staff to save her but did not succeed.
“A Medical Own Recognizance bond had been approved by a judge,” said Opegrande. “Owens was scheduled to be released on the Medical OR bond to another facility as soon as hospital staff deemed her medically fit for transport.”
Turn Key Health is the contractor for all medical services in the Oklahoma County Jail and Oklahoma State Representative Jon Echols is the co-founder and president.
As with any death in the jail, the State Medical Examiner’s Office will make a final determination as to the cause of death.
Under new protocols, all deaths are investigated as homicides until a final determination is made. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations has also been notified to assist.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
