Man Dies in Hunt County Jail in Greenville, Texas
The Hunt County Sheriff’s Department, in Greenville, Texas, filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas. The report was regarding the death of Mark Steven King. Mr. King was only 44 years of age at the time of his death. We make no allegation of any wrongdoing in this post, but we are instead simply providing information.
Mr. King was brought to the Hunt County jail by the West Tawakoni Police Department on December 9, 2019. A West Tawakoni officer said he believed that Mr. King was suicidal. Therefore, Mr. King was placed on suicide watch. He was also seen by Transicare on December 9, 2019. Transicare advised that Mr. King needed to be on observation. Unfortunately, Mr. King was apparently not put on constant observation.
At 5:10 p.m., a cell check was conducted and Mr. King was standing at the door of his cell. He was in observation cell number 263.
Approximately seven minutes later, an officer was checking on another inmate in the cell next to Mr. King. The officer went into the cell to check on Mr. King and found him unresponsive. Emergency life saving measures were taking by jail staff, and Mr. King was ultimately transported to Hunt Regional Medical Center.
A law enforcement officer indicated that, approximately 30 minutes before the code blue regarding Mr. King was called, he was standing at the door speaking with Mr. King. Mr. King asked who the lady in the trash can was. There was no one in the area, and Mr. King must have been hallucinating. The officer also indicated that Mr. King, when taken to court that day, believed that he was seeing his mother and brother at the courthouse. However, they were not there.
The medical examiner indicated that there was no trauma to Mr. King’s body that appears to have caused his death. Toxicology results are pending. Based on our law firm’s experience, the Texas Rangers will also likely investigate the death.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone