Nancy Crystal Lopez died at age 38 on May 5, 2023, in the custody of Atascosa County Jail. The information that summarizes events surrounding her death continues here. In the safety cell she had been moved to in the jail, Ms. Lopez had another seizure at 6:00 AM. She was closely watched, and more details were provided about her condition, but there is no mention of receiving treatment until the jail nurse checked on her at 7:37 AM. The nurse couldn’t find a pulse and reported that Ms. Lopez was not breathing. The nurse immediately asked officers to grab the AMBU bag while instructing officers to call for emergency medical services.

An Autopsy Shows that a County Jail Inmate Died of the Effects of Heroin Withdrawal Continued

Forty minutes after the nurse left without taking vital signs, the inmate pressed the emergency button again, but it was allegedly ignored. At 5:20 AM, he crawled to the door of his cell, vomited, and became unconscious while lying on his back.

A deputy discovered the inmate 5 minutes later. The deputy noted that the inmate’s skin was grayish in color, and he had trouble breathing. The jailer attempted to speak to the inmate and allegedly kicked him several times, but the inmate only moaned in response.

Finally, at that point in time, emergency medical services were called. It was too late, though, because lifesaving measures were unsuccessful and he was pronounced deceased at 6 AM.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and this continuing series.

Helping Texas jail detainees and their families with resources is one of the purposes of this website. There is no intention of suggesting that people or organizations have been involved in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor