Name not reported
The son of former Orange County Register columnist David Whiting died by suicide while held at a jail run by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, according to a lawsuit his father filed. The lawsuit calls the decision to place him, a suicidal man with severe mental illness, in the general population 'outrageous.' The Orange County District Attorney has said he choked on orange peel he had stuffed down his throat while on suicide watch, and that jail workers were not negligent in his death. The family's lawsuit and the district attorney's account are competing claims about whether the jail's staff failed him.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). His father's lawsuit says the sheriff's department placed a suicidal man with severe mental illness in the general population, while the district attorney says jail workers were not negligent in his death.
Reported by: David Whiting (father), in a lawsuit against the Orange County Sheriff's Department (family or their lawyers); Orange County District Attorney.
Lawsuit: David Whiting, a former Orange County Register columnist, sued the Orange County Sheriff's Department over his son's suicide in a county jail, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.