Inmate Paula Orth Dies in El Paso County Jail CO
In Colorado news, 47-year-old Paula Orth was incarcerated in El Paso County Jail when, on July 24, 2025, she was discovered unresponsive in her cell. Deputies with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and jail medical staff began administering lifesaving measures and immediate medical care. Ten minutes later, paramedics from the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) and American Medical Response (AMR) arrived on the scene. They assumed Ms. Ohr’s medical care and continued the lifesaving efforts. Sadly, Paula Orth was pronounced deceased at 7:40 p.m.
El Paso County Sheriff Roybal has requested an autopsy by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office to determine Ms. Orth’s cause and manner of death. He also ordered his department’s investigative division to conduct an in-depth investigation into the tragic event.
Per the findings of an initial investigation, there was no indication that assault, foul play, or self-harm was involved.
The address of the El Paso County Jail is 2739 E Las Vegas St, Colorado Springs, CO 80906. The largest jail in the state, the El Paso County Jail, houses an average of 1,600 inmates.
Questionable Inmate Deaths Have Plagued Colorado County Jails
County and municipal jails have a duty to watch over the care and well-being of their inmates. Jails have oversight that makes them accountable, but failures in upholding minimum jail standards are often obscured until allegedly preventable custodial deaths occur. The following are examples of inmate deaths in local Colorado jails that have been called into question:
Michael Burch’s Death in Huerfano County Correctional Center is Ruled a Homicide
Michael Burch was 69 years old and an inmate in Huerfano County Jail when deputies at the jail slammed him into a metal bench. His ribs were crushed and, over a course of eight days, due to punctured lungs, he suffered punctured organs and internal bleeding before suffocating to the point of death. The El Paso County corner reviewed surveillance footage and established that Mr. Burch died of blunt force trauma to his stomach and chest. His March 2023 death was ruled a homicide.
The address of Huerfano County Jail, also known as Huerfano County Correctional Center, is 500 S Albert Ave, Walsenburg, CO 81089. The bed capacity at the jail is 752.
Cristo Canett Died of Alleged Medical Neglect in Colorado’s El Paso County Jail
Cristo Canett, 48, was at a hospital in April 2022. He was seeking help for critical pain in his side for the second time in 14 days. When he was arrested, jail videos show that Mr. Canett was gripping his stomach and was perceptibly in pain. He exhibited unmistakable signs of distress.
Despite this, he was placed in a regular cell. This means he was not provided with additional supervision for the purpose of keeping a closer watch on his condition. Just hours later, he was provided with a wheelchair because of acute pain. After a charge nurse at the jail purportedly called Mr. Canett’s condition unsettling, the medical staff indicated that they knew about his condition.
Mr. Canett never received the care of a doctor. On April 26, 2022, his third day in El Paso County Jail, he was found deceased in his cell. His cause of death was a perforated ulcer that led to internal bleeding, as determined by the El Paso County Coroner.
In early 2024, following many inmate deaths and a string of formal family complaints, the jail changed from Wellpath as the healthcare provider to VitalCore.
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