Maniesa Fletcher
Maniesa Fletcher, 29, was a kind woman who tutored the younger children in her family, and her stepmother said she was loved by many people. She had lived with seizures and psychiatric episodes that she was treated for outside the jail, and her father said she knew her own medications. Fletcher had been held at the Marion County Jail in Florida since September 2024 and died on March 14, 2025, at AdventHealth Ocala Hospital after being transferred from the jail. Her family believes she did not receive the medical care she needed there and says family members asked jail staff for her medication before her death. The medical examiner's autopsy listed complications from epilepsy as the cause of death, and the Sheriff's Office's Major Crimes Unit investigation was ongoing at the time of reporting, with the jail's morbidity committee reporting no areas of concern.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner's autopsy listed complications from epilepsy, while her family says she did not receive proper medical care at the jail and that family members asked staff for her medication before she died.
Reported by: Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Her family (family or their lawyers); Her brother (family or their lawyers); Marion County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held her).