Randy Heath
Randy Heath, 39, was held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County when he died on July 18, 2021. The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office report found that he died from food asphyxia, with pica, the eating of non-food items, as a contributing cause. His mother, Angela Heath, has filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit that says jail staff failed to feed, monitor and medicate him properly and did not take him to a hospital. Before his death he had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and a former facilitator at the group home where he lived recalls that he loved to eat. The county declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Died in an accident (disputed; neglect alleged). The Miami-Dade medical examiner found he died of food asphyxia with pica as a contributing cause, but his mother's wrongful-death lawsuit alleges jail staff failed to feed, monitor and medicate him and did not take him to a hospital.
Reported by: Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); Angela Heath, his mother, via her wrongful-death lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His mother, Angela Heath, filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that jail staff failed to feed, monitor and medicate him properly, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.