A pregnant woman who complained of stomach pains dies in Mississippi jail

Lanekia Michelle Brown had been arrested on a drug charge, but her family wants to know why the 37-year-old mother, who was pregnant turned up dead in her jail cell

Lanekia Michelle Brown
WJTV

A family is distraught after learning that a pregnant woman who was taken into custody and awaiting trial after a traffic stop, died after complaining of stomach pains, WJTV reports.

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Lanekia Michelle Brown and Marcus Anthony Redrick of Hutchins were arrested in November when officers found 103 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop, according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department.

Brown was awaiting trial for a Trafficking of a Controlled Substance charge in the detention center.

But on Sunday the Mississippi Highway Patrol told Brown’s mother, Margaret Johnson that the 37-year-old mother of two had died while still in custody.

Johnson said her daughter was three to four weeks pregnant. The family suspects foul play.

“I need to know what happened to her… where she at. They won’t tell me or give me no information. That’s my child. I love my child…. I want to know where my child is.”

According to reports, Brown complained of stomach pains so a nurse at the Madison County Detention Center went to check on her, but Brown was already dead.

“They did CPR on her over and over… still didn’t get no response [sic]… So he just said she was gone,” Johnson said.

“It’s very suspicious because like I said we talked to her and she was okay. If she had any kind of problems, she would have let us know,” Lavell, a family member said.

Brown’s family is reportedly from Grenada, Miss., and drove to Madison county so they could get more information.

Heath Hall, Madison County Sheriff’s Department spokesman confirmed Brown’s death, which is under investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed by the Madison County Coroner.

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Texas grandmother dies in custody

In a similar story, a Texas a grandmother held in custody on $300 bail since July on misdemeanor charge died in jail.

To make matters worse, she was waiting to be released on a $300 bond that required only a $30 payment for her to be discharged, KSAT.com reports.

Janice Dotson-Stephens, 61, died in the custody of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in December after being locked up since July on a criminal charge of trespassing on private property, according to court records. In most states, criminal trespassing is a misdemeanor.

Court records show she required a $300 bond with 10 percent payment for her release. Instead, the grandmother, whose family says was suffering from mental illness, sat in jail and BCSO officials said Dotson-Stephens died of natural causes while in custody. She was taken to the infirmary at the annex detention center, reports said.

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