Kindra Chapman
Kindra Darnell Chapman, an 18-year-old woman, died in July 2015 while held at the Homewood City Jail in Homewood, Alabama. Police said she was found hanging from a bedsheet in her cell after they last saw her alive at 6:30 p.m., and she was pronounced dead at Brookwood Medical Center; the Jefferson County Coroner's office later listed the cause as asphyxia by hanging. Jail staff said they found her unresponsive around 7:50 p.m., about an hour after she was processed, and police said video shows her taking her own life, though the final minutes have not been released. Her mother believes police killed her daughter, and her family, who described her as a wonderful person who loved her siblings and had her whole life ahead of her, has called for an investigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The coroner's office and Homewood police say she hanged herself with a bedsheet in her cell, but her mother believes police killed her daughter, and the Jefferson County District Attorney's office reviewed the death; police have not released the final minutes of video.
Reported by: Jefferson County Coroner's office (medical examiner or coroner); Homewood Police Department (the agency that held her); Homewood City Jail officials (the agency that held her); Chapman's family (family or their lawyers); Jefferson County District Attorney's office (outside investigators).
News reports (4)
- Police say an 18-year-old Kindra Chapman hanged herself, one day after Sandra Bland’s death
- Coroner releases cause of death for teen who died in Homewood jail
- Since Sandra Bland’s Death Last Year, Over 800 People Have Died in Police Custody
- A Black Teen Died This Week In An Alabama Jail Cell, And Authorities Say It Was Suicide [UPDATE]