Brenda Sewell
Brenda Sewell, 58, was a teacher's aide in the Hickman Mills School District, and her obituary described her as the rock everyone could rely on, known for her compassion for children and animals. Her family says she was held at the Sherman County Jail in Goodland, Kansas, where she grew sicker over two days, repeatedly asked for her medications and a doctor, and vomited blood. They say she was taken to a hospital, returned to her cell, and died on the cell floor on January 25, 2017, and that a guard did not respond right away while her sister tried to revive her. The Sherman County coroner, Lyle Noordhoek, attributed her death to internal bleeding from ruptured lesions on her spleen and listed it as natural, a finding her family disputes, and officials have not released the investigation or jail video.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The Sherman County coroner ruled her death natural, from internal bleeding caused by ruptured lesions on her spleen, but her family disputes that finding and says jail staff ignored her repeated requests for medication and a doctor and a guard did not respond promptly when she collapsed.
Reported by: Lyle Noordhoek, Sherman County coroner (medical examiner or coroner); Brenda Sewell's family (family or their lawyers).