A 55-year-old woman was found dead late Monday of an apparent suicide in the Lake County Jail after she was booked following her arrest on theft and violation-of-probation charges, a sheriff’s spokesman said Tuesday.
Christy Chappell was found unresponsive on Monday night, Sgt. Fred Jones said. She apparently suffocated after placing a bedsheet around her neck, attaching it to her bed and leaning forward, Jones said.
medical staffers and jail workers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and used an automated external defibrillator until emergency workers arrived and took over life-saving measures. She was later pronounced dead by emergency personnel
Chappell was accused of stealing laundry detergent from a Dollar General store in central Florida at 3570 W. Burleigh Blvd., Tavares.
She also was charged with violation of probation from a 2017 grand-theft case.
Jones said inmates are screened to determine if they are suicidal, and “there was no indication that she [Chappell] was suicidal.” An inmate considered suicidal is issued an anti-suicide smock and doesn’t receive a bedsheet, he said.
