56-year-old Tarrant County Jail inmate dies in JPS Hospital’s intensive care unit
A 56-year-old woman who was in the custody of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office died at a Fort Worth hospital on Tuesday, Feb. 18, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Kimberly Phillips, who was identified by the medical examiner’s office, was under medical observation while at the Tarrant County Jail, according to the release. She was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital on Feb. 15 and died three days later “under the direct care of the medical staff,” the release states.
The reason Phillips was taken to JPS is not given in the release. Results of an autopsy to determine her cause and manner of death are still pending on the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office website. She died in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Grand Prairie police arrested Phillips on Jan. 24 on two outstanding felony warrants, according to the release. She was transferred to the Tarrant County Jail on Jan. 25.
According to court records, Phillips was accused of hitting an elderly woman with a mango and threatening the victim because of her “status as a prospective witness.” The 56-year-old Phillips faced a charge of injury to the elderly with the intent to cause bodily injury and a charge of retaliation or obstruction.
It wasn’t clear from the release why Phillips was placed in medical housing while at the Tarrant County Jail. Those in medical housing have access to around-the-clock medical care, the release states.
Phillips is the second in-custody death so far this year. A 36-year-old man, Charles Stephen Johnson, died Feb. 8 at JPS Hospital from complications after a suicide attempt, the Sheriff’s Office said.
All Tarrant County Jail deaths are supposed to be investigated by the Sheriff’s Office, JPS medical staff, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, an outside law enforcement agency, the medical examiner’s office and the Texas Attorney General’s Office, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
