Woman dies after being held in York, SC jail. Sheriff calls state to investigate
South Carolina state police have been called to investigate after a woman being held in the York County jail died Wednesday at a hospital.
The woman, 40, has not been identified.
She had been in jail since Feb. 19 on two drug charges, Sheriff Tony Breeden said in a written statement.
Jail staff found her unresponsive after 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and started life-saving measures, the sheriff’s office said. EMS arrived and took her to a hospital, where she died around 1:30 p.m., according to the statement.
Officials have not released any other information about the incident or said where in the jail the woman was found unresponsive.
Breeden asked the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate the death. It is sheriff’s office policy to have SLED investigate inmate deaths, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
The York County jail is located at the Moss Justice Center in York and is run by the sheriff. It has a 565-inmate capacity. There were 430 people held there Wednesday.
The inmate death is the first in 2025. Four people in York County jails died in 2024: Three were at the county jail and one person died at the Rock Hill city jail.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
