Demerious Jones
Demerious Jones, 21, died on September 24, 2021, while held at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. He had diabetes and told staff so when he was booked. A federal lawsuit filed by his mother, Franequa Jones, says jail staff ignored his worsening diabetic ketoacidosis for days and withheld insulin and hospital care, and surveillance footage was described as showing him on a cell floor for about a day before he was found without a pulse or breath. The autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Frank Peretti listed hypertensive cardiovascular disease as the cause of death, with diabetic ketoacidosis as a contributing factor. The jail commission and nurses have denied the allegations, a sheriff's investigation reportedly found no criminal act, and the civil suit is ongoing.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The autopsy attributed his death to hypertensive cardiovascular disease with diabetic ketoacidosis as a contributing factor, while his family's federal lawsuit says jail staff ignored his worsening diabetic ketoacidosis and withheld insulin and hospital care.
Reported by: forensic pathologist Dr. Frank Peretti (autopsy) (medical examiner or coroner); his mother, Franequa Jones, in a federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Ruston Daily Leader (reporters).
Lawsuit: His mother, Franequa Jones, filed a federal lawsuit over his care at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center, and that suit remained pending in the reporting.