Joseph Earl Brueggemann
Joseph Earl Brueggemann was 38 years old. He had green eyes, sandy brown hair and loved fishing, and he left behind a 15-year-old daughter and a beloved elderly cat, according to his mother. He died on August 24, 2022, in the Sedgwick County Jail in Kansas, where he was being held. Preliminary autopsy results attributed his death to a heart attack caused by a blood clot. His mother says he had suffered a skull fracture earlier in a disciplinary cell, did not receive his usual medications, and was left alone for hours before he was found unresponsive. The jail administrator said staffing shortages and limited mental health resources make it hard to meet check-in policies, and did not address the specifics of his case.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). Preliminary autopsy results attributed the death to a heart attack caused by a blood clot, but his mother says jail staff withheld his usual medications, left him alone for hours before he was found unresponsive, and that he had suffered a skull fracture earlier in a disciplinary cell.
Reported by: preliminary autopsy; preliminary investigation; his mother.