Ray Rattler
Ray Rattler, 56, was held at the Harris County Jail in Texas, where he had been since May 2023. The sheriff's office said his health had deteriorated and took him to Ben Taub Hospital on June 14, where he died on June 17, 2023. The sheriff's office attributed his death to preexisting health conditions, and the medical examiner later determined he died of complications of HIV and hepatitis B and C. His wife, Roshundalyn Rattler, said the family was not called until the morning of June 17 and found him already dead at the hospital, and that jail officials made her leave because the death was treated as a crime scene. She also said people held in the jail are human beings, not trash.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness. The medical examiner ruled he died of complications of HIV and hepatitis B and C, and the Harris County Sheriff's Office attributed his death to preexisting health conditions.
Reported by: medical examiner's office (medical examiner or coroner); Harris County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him).
News reports (6)
- Two men died from ‘preexisting conditions’ while in custody at the Harris County Jail, officials say
- Civil rights activists hold news conference after 2 Harris County Jail inmates died last week
- Families band together, demanding accountability, justice at Harris County Jail after eight in-custody deaths this year
- Harris County Jail deaths: Murder suspect, armed robbery suspect die in custody from preexisting conditions, sheriff's office says
- People with mental illness make up half of Harris County jail deaths
- Custodial death report 23-801-CJ