Woman was jailed Saturday night in Oklahoma County. By Wednesday, she was dead
The Oklahoma County jail had its seventh inmate death of 2023 on Wednesday.
A detention officer found Lashala Taulbee-Pratt, 33, unresponsive in her cell at 11:45 a.m. while distributing meals, the jail said in a news release. Attempts to revive her were unsuccessful.
She was booked in at 11:41 p.m. Saturday after Oklahoma City police responded to a shoplifter call at a Walmart, according to a court affidavit and jail records. Police took her to jail because she had multiple warrants for her arrest. Police reported finding fentanyl in a wallet inside her purse.
More: Every inmate who died at the Oklahoma County Jail since the Trust took over
The death was the 44th since a trust took over the Oklahoma County jail on July 1, 2020. It was the first, though, since three inmates died over four days in April.
Autopsies determined two of the deaths in April were because of fentanyl.
"As is standard protocol, all deaths are investigated as homicides until a final determination is made," the jail said.
"Each inmate death is different and tragic, but many of the deaths were preventable," grand jurors reported.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County jail reports death of inmate, 7th death in 2023
