One of several inmates suing the Oklahoma County Detention Center over the “Baby Shark” torture incident was found dead in his cell over the weekend.
John Basco, 48, was discovered unresponsive in his call early Sunday and couldn’t be saved despite jail workers’ efforts. Officials said that his death may be a drug overdose and that foul play was not suspected.
Basco was just booked into jail on Thursday over drug trafficking accusations. He was one of a group of inmates who sued the county for allegedly being forced to repeatedly listen to “Baby Shark” song for hours while handcuffed against a wall in 2019.
His attorney, Cameron Spradling, told a local newspaper that his client’s sudden death was “disturbing” and requested all evidence related to the incident be preserved for a thorough investigation.
“I’m really bothered by this. One of the ‘Baby Shark’ victims is conveniently dead within three days of his arrival at the jail. How does that happen? District Attorney David Prater just lost one of his witnesses for the upcoming criminal trial. For me, this one does not pass the smell test,” he said.
