A California man died in custody one day after being arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife.
The problem? It was later determined the man’s wife died of “acute bacterial meningitis,” according to a KTVU report.
Sixty-five-year old Melvin Stubbs died of natural causes at a hospital while he was in custody, according to Sgt. Ray Kelly with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
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His wife, Terry Cameron, was 58.
Stubbs, a double amputee, had been unattended for two days before he was found by police, and so he was brought to Santa Rita Jail with dangerously low blood sugar and was initially turned away.
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He was then taken to a hospital in order to receive treatment and then returned later in the day. He reportedly died 90 minutes after having returned.
The jail staff knew that Stubbs had a medical condition, and so he was booked into the medical wing so that he could continue to receive treatment.
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“We made sure he passed all the necessary medical steps to be booked in, and he did, and then shortly thereafter is when he went into distress,” Kelly said. “We definitely knew that Mr. Stubbs had medical needs and he was given the best medical care.”
Oakland police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said authorities suspected Stubbs was involved in his wife’s death, because Cameron showed signs of struggle and because the house was in a state of disarray.