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Corona woman dies in custody at downtown Riverside jail
Riverside County Dec 20, 2023
The Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside. | Photo courtesy of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department
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An autopsy was pending Tuesday on a 29-year-old inmate who died in her cell at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, though authorities said there are no suspicions of foul play.
Heather Hendy of Corona succumbed to unspecified causes at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
She is the second detainee to die at the downtown jail in the last week. A 44-year-old Hemet man died of unknown causes Wednesday.
Jail records show that Hendy was arrested on Dec. 13 for an alleged vehicle theft in Corona. The convicted felon was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail.
Correctional deputies were alerted that Hendy was unresponsive in her cell and went to investigate, sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Wedel said in a statement.
Discovering Hendy unconscious, they “immediately administered life-saving measures,” Wedel said.
Paramedics reached the location a short time later and also attempted to resuscitate the woman, but it was to no avail. She was pronounced dead at the jail, according to the sergeant.
“There were no signs of foul play,” he said.
The sheriff’s department is currently in litigation over a string of in-custody deaths in the last several years. Most of them have been drug-related or the result of suicide, though others remain undetermined, according to court papers.
It was unknown when the autopsy on Hendy might be completed.
