Inmate Dies At Satellite Jail, Foul Play Not Suspected

The Champaign County Sheriff’s office believes a medical issue led to the death of an inmate at the county’s satellite jail Tuesday.  Sheriff Dan Walsh says Toya Frazier, 45, of Savoy was found not breathing in her cell about 5 p.m. 

Officers and the Urbana Fire Department immediately tried administering CPR, and she was later pronounced dead at Carle Hospital.  Frazier had been awaiting transport to state prison, after being sentenced Monday to three and a half years in prison for felony theft.

According to the News-Gazette, court records show Frazier's public defender had asked to delay the start of her prison sentence on at least three occasions because of health problems earlier this year, and Champaign County Circuit Judge Heidi Ladd agreed to those continuances.

Walsh says while there’s no reason to suspect foul play, he’s asked Illinois State Police to lead a multi-jurisdictional team to investigate Frazier’s death.

The sheriff and county coroner will do their own investigation.

Preliminary autopsy results didn’t reveal a cause of death, and results from toxicology testing and a microscopic exam aren’t due for several weeks.