A female detainee died Monday after being found unconscious inside her cell yesterday morning at the DuPage County Correctional Center.
Detainee found unconscious during rounds
At around 9:35 a.m. a sheriff’s deputy was conducting her regular rounds when she found 50-year-old Reneyda Aguilar-Hurtado unconscious and unresponsive in her cell, according to a press release from the DuPage County sheriff’s office.
Sheriff’s deputies immediately started CPR on Aguilar-Hurtado until first responders from the Wheaton Fire Department arrived. Paramedics then brought Aguilar-Hurtado to Central DuPage Hospital, where she never regained consciousness and hours later, was pronounced dead.
Cause of death unknown
The cause of her death is not known, however, there were no signs of obvious physical trauma observed at the time she was found in her cell, officials said. An autopsy is scheduled for today, June 13, at 9 a.m.
“This is an extremely unfortunate event,” said DuPage County Sheriff, James Mendrick, in the news release. “We take all the necessary safeguards to protect our detainees, and our preliminary investigation indicates all the proper procedures were followed. We believe very strongly that our mission is not merely to confine detainees, but to care for them as well.”
Aguilar-Hurtado had been arrested March 19
Aguilar-Hurtado had been in the facility since her warrant arrest by the Addison Police Department for misdemeanor battery on March 19, 2023. On April 10, she was deemed unfit to stand trial, and a court order was entered for her to be transferred for mental health treatment and evaluation to the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Just days before her death, on Saturday, June 10, Aguilar-Hurtado was put on a 15-minute medical watch, after she was found sitting on the floor of her cell in a pool of vomit. She refused any medical assistance at that time. She was scheduled to be looked at by a doctor on Monday morning.
An investigation into her death is currently underway. The sheriff’s office will release more information as it becomes available.
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