Woman who collapsed at Duval County jail died of ruptured brain aneurysm, medical examiner says

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two Duval County inmates have died within three days this week, and a report from the medical examiner’s office obtained by the I-TEAM Friday afternoon office reveals the cause of death of one of them.

Police said, Becky Faircloth, 62, collapsed at breakfast at the Duval County jail around 5 a.m. on Saturday and was taken to the hospital. She died Monday morning.

According to a report signed by deputy chief medical examiner Dr. Robert Pfalzgraf, it is his opinion Faircloth died of a ruptured brain aneurysm in a natural death. The examination was performed Thursday, the report says.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Duval County inmate Danny James, 40, died Thursday, making him the second person to die in custody in four days.

According to police, James was found unresponsive in his bunk around 4:50 a.m. Thursday morning, and there wasn’t any indication his death was caused by another person.

MORE | I-TEAM: At least 7 people have died at the Duval County Jail in 2 years

It’s not clear yet what happened, but JSO said it was a potential medical episode.

According to an incident report, multiple inmates alerted an officer about James’ condition that morning. The report stated an officer found James unresponsive in his bunk without a pulse or any signs of breathing. The report said officers moved him to the floor and began chest compressions until rescue arrived about ten minutes later. It also said the incident didn’t turn up any contraband. James’ sister-in-law told the I-TEAM he hadn’t been sick lately.

According to police, an officer found Faircloth in her cell, sitting on a stool with her head propped on the table. She had no visible injuries, the report said, and her body was “locked up.”

Faircloth’s husband told the I-TEAM she collapsed over her oatmeal. He also said she had a history of medical problems, including sleep apnea and lupus. He also said she had a family history of aneurysms.

According to the incident reports detailing the responses to both deaths, neither incident turned up any contraband.

More than a dozen people have reached out to the News4JAX I-TEAM to say they’re worried about poor healthcare at the jail, including Faircloth’s husband. Multiple sources have also said that drugs are circulating inside the jail.

A woman named Phyllis, who asked us not to use her last name, said her son is in the Duval County jail, and he contacted her Wednesday to say “someone brought in a bunch of fentanyl.”

“It kind of upset me because, you know, they have all these people in there for drug charges, for doing drugs…for all these different charges, and here, fentanyl is actually getting into the jail,” she said.

A spokesperson for JSO said, “Individuals have introduced contraband into the jail. However, this is not an issue that is solely isolated to our PTDF, it is an issue that all jail facilities (throughout the nation) encounter. Inmates are thoroughly search during the booking process and upon contraband being located, additional charges are then placed. We have worked and continue to work towards mitigating this issue both short and long term.”

The deaths of James and Faircloth are coming off the heels of controversy that led JSO to dump jail contractor Amor Health, starting Sept. 1. Former inmate Dexter Barry died a few days after he didn’t receive medication to keep his body from rejecting his transplanted heart when he spent a weekend in jail last year. Armor disputes that the lack of medication at the jail lead to Dexter Barry’s death.

The Medical Examiner’s Office told the I-TEAM an autopsy is not yet available for James.