72-year-old cleaning court cell ends up trapped for days without food, Florida cops say

A woman who was cleaning an inmate holding cell at an Orlando courthouse was trapped for days when the cell door closed and locked behind her, according to a report from a Florida sheriff’s office.

The 72-year-old woman, who is a contracted janitorial worker, started her shift at the Orange County Courthouse at around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, according to a report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

She had entered a holding cell on the 23rd floor of the building to clean it when the door shut behind her and she was unable to open it, the report says. Her cellphone was on her cart, which was outside of the cell.

At around 6:45 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 30, a deputy on duty at the courthouse noticed a cleaning cart outside of one of the cells, the report says. When he went to investigate, he found the woman inside.

The woman has diabetes and had had no food or insulin since she became trapped, the report says. She was, however, able to drink water from a small faucet inside the cell.

The courthouse is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to its website. Multiple security officers with Allied Security Services were on duty over the weekend during the time the woman was trapped, the report says.

The security company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

This story was originally published February 1, 2023 at 1:04 PM with the headline "72-year-old cleaning court cell ends up trapped for days without food, Florida cops say."