COVINGTON – An inmate in the St. Tammany Parish Jail was found unresponsive by deputies after apparently strangling himself in his cell early Saturday morning, the St. Tammany Parish Sherrif’s Office says.
St. Tammany Parish Coroner has identified the inmate who died at the Parish Jail this morning as 45-year-old Murel Rainey. The Lacombe man was found unresponsive at approximately 3:30 a.m. in the isolation cell where he was being held.
Upon noticing the inmate was unresponsive, jail staff immediately began CPR and contacted medical personnel at the jail in addition to outside EMS. Life-saving measures were unsuccessful.
Rainey was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail in November 2018, on drugs and weapons charges and was being held on a $109,500 bond.
An autopsy will be conducted on Monday, and Rainey’s family has accepted Preston’s invitation to have an independent observer present. Such an offer is made to families in all deaths involving law enforcement interactions or custody. After autopsy, Preston will officially rule on cause and manner of death.
The St. Tammany Parish Sherrif’s Office says the incident is under investigation. More information will be provided as it becomes available.