Roy Tatum
Roy Tatum, 47, died on January 3, 2024, at the Central Detention Facility in Washington, D.C., where he was held. According to the D.C. Department of Corrections, staff found him unresponsive in his cell around 2:55 p.m., and he was pronounced dead about 3:40 p.m. The D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later attributed his death to the combined toxic effects of fentanyl and a synthetic cannabinoid and ruled the manner an accident. The Metropolitan Police Department and the department's Office of Investigative Affairs are investigating, and his family, through attorney Brian McDaniel, has asked for more transparency and information about his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose. The D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death an accident caused by the combined toxic effects of fentanyl and a synthetic cannabinoid.
Reported by: D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner).