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A 36-year-old Oakland woman died nine days after she was found unresponsive in the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
Jessica Watson died Thursday night at a local hospital where she was taken Oct. 13 after being discovered with something tied around her neck in her cell, the sheriff’s office said.
Watson had been arrested by Hayward police on outstanding warrants for domestic violence and driving under the influence and was booked into the jail about 2:47 a.m. on Oct. 10, according to the sheriff’s office.
On Oct. 13, deputies making a welfare check on jail inmates about 8:36 p.m. found an unresponsive Watson seated on the lower bunk of her cell with “what appeared to be a ligature around her neck”, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies immediately started lifesaving measures and jail medical staff rendered aid, the sheriff’s office said.
“Although Ms. Watson had a pulse, she remained unresponsive,” the sheriff’s office said. “She was transported by ambulance to a local hospital for further medical treatment.” The name of the hospital wasn’t disclosed.
The following day, Watson “was released from custody on her own recognizance” about 5:22 p.m., the sheriff’s office said. It was not clear whether Watson ever left the hospital.
She was pronounced dead by the hospital’s medical staff about 7:52 p.m. Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office.
The circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation. The official cause of death will be determined following an autopsy and any necessary toxicology testing, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said it has reported the death to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and the California Attorney General’s Office.
