Daughter of inmate killed in isolation cell attack sues jail, Kenton County

Less than 24 hours after 61-year-old John Daulton was booked into the Kenton County Detention Center in May, he was fatally wounded in an alleged assault by another inmate.

Tonya Jones, Daulton’s daughter, is now accusing the county and jail officials, including Kenton County Jailer Marc Fields, of “multiple system breakdowns” that she alleges contributed to her father’s eventual death from injuries sustained in the assault.

The wrongful death suit was filed Dec. 1 in federal court in Covington.

What happened to John Daulton?

On the evening of May 13, Daulton was arrested for allegedly violating his probation for a prior drug possession conviction.

After he arrived at the jail, Daulton refused to respond to officials' questions and was placed in an isolation cell until he completed intake, according to the lawsuit.

Daulton should’ve been moved to the general population after he completed his part of the intake process, the suit states, but jail deputies didn’t notify supervisors or intake personnel that he had done so.

Instead, he was left in the isolation cell where he grew agitated, pounding on the door and throwing water through his cell window.

In response, officials phoned a third-party, nonprofit suicide prevention organization, which decided Daulton was a “high risk” for suicide, the suit states. He was then placed on suicide watch and outfitted in a “turtle suit,” a garment commonly used in jails to prevent inmates from harming themselves.

Jones’s lawyers said it’s unclear what information or documents were given to the nonprofit that led to its determination.

In court filings, Jones's lawyers said Daulton was confused about why he was placed on suicide watch and repeatedly denied any suicidal ideation during an assessment with a nurse, who recommended that he be moved to the general population.

The lawyers said available records made no indication that the nonprofit or jail officials were ever notified of the nurse's recommendation.

Daulton held in isolation cell with alleged killer

Johnathan Maskiell, now 33, was taken into custody late on May 13 on a felony extradition warrant for a receiving stolen property charge out of Ohio and jailed at the detention center. He was eventually placed in the isolation cell with Daulton, who was still wearing the suicide prevention smock, the suit states. It's unclear why he was placed in the isolation cell and why the two were placed in the same cell.

At around 3:01 p.m. on May 14, authorities were called to the jail for a report of an unresponsive person, a criminal citation shows. When they arrived, they found Daulton had been “brutally assaulted” by Maskiell – the only other person inside the cell, according to the lawsuit.

A jail deputy who was on watch at the time told investigators he heard two loud "thuds" and ran to the cell, where he saw Maskiell stomp twice on Daulton’s head before he was able to intervene.

Daulton was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he died from his injuries a week later. The lawsuit says he suffered severe brain damage and remained comatose until his death.

A Kenton County grand jury indicted Maskiell in July on a single count of murder in connection with Daulton’s killing. Maskiell is also facing a persistent felony offender charge due to a 2017 conviction for burglary in Clermont County.

He’s still being held at the jail awaiting trial.

Suit claims deputies failed to follow policies

Officials disregarded jail policy by not placing Maskiell in a cell by himself after they received notice he had “violent tendencies,” the suit claims. The staff also failed 22 times to follow a supervisor's written directive to check on the men's cell every 10 minutes, according to the suit.

The suit says these failings were due to insufficient training and supervision of jail deputies, or a blatant disregard of written policies.

“If any one of the multiple safeguards jails use for protecting their inmates was actually utilized in this case, this tragedy would not have occurred,” the lawsuit reads.

Jones claims the county and jail officials deprived Daulton of his constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment, failed to protect him from physical harm and contributed to his death through their alleged failings.

“A lawsuit was filed seeking money from Kenton County taxpayers, but not from (Maskiell), the man allegedly responsible for the murder –  Why? – because the lawsuit hopes that county taxpayers will pay (Maskiell’s) legal tab; that will not happen,” Christopher Nordloh, an assistant Kenton County attorney, said in an emailed statement.

“While the outcome is no doubt tragic, Kenton County and its officials are not to blame and will not ask taxpayers to indemnify someone accused of murder,” Nordloh added.

Nordloh declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

Court records do not indicate when the case is expected to first go before a judge.

Jones is asking for the lawsuit to be heard by a jury. She is also seeking compensatory damages to help cover medical and funeral expenses, as well as punitive damages, court costs and attorney’s fees.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Woman sues Kenton County, jail over father's death in attack