SC woman charged with killing two dies while locked up, coroner says
A woman charged with killing two people died Friday night after being found suffering from a medical issue in a South Carolina jail cell, the coroner’s office said.
Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee identified Patrice Latoya Watson McFadden as the female inmate who died, the Florence Morning News reported.
The Darlington County Sheriff’s Office said after McFadden was found in her cell she was taken to an area hospital where she died, according to WBTW.
Information on the medical issue was not available, but the coroner said an autopsy has been scheduled for McFadden, and another inmate at the jail who died in an unrelated incident Saturday, per WPDE.
McFadden was being held at W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center following a DUI-related car crash that killed two people, jail records show. The detention center is about 70 miles east of Columbia.
Although the deadly wreck occurred Sept. 26, McFadden was not locked up until Dec. 20, when she was charged with two counts of felony DUI resulting in death and two counts of reckless homicide, according to jail records.
South Carolina Highway Patrol said McFadden was at fault when the Mazda pickup truck she was driving crossed the center line, crashing head-on into a Ford and killing two people in that vehicle, WBTW reported.
McFadden was denied bond and was held at the detention center for 15 days before dying in custody, jail records show.
The other inmate who died was a federal prisoner, according to WMBF. The TV station said the man being held at the Darlington County jail suffered a cardiac event Saturday and was taken to an area hospital where he died.
The coroner’s office will publicly identify the man after notifying the next of kin.
An autopsy is also scheduled for the male inmate, and both deaths are being investigated by the coroner’s office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, WPDE reported.
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This story was originally published January 5, 2020 at 12:12 PM.
