Family of Jackson County inmate who died in custody files lawsuit against jail workers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Jackson County inmate fought for her life while being ignored, criticized and made fun of by jail workers, according to a lawsuit filed Friday by the mother of Ta'Neasha Chappell.

Three months after Chappell died in Jackson County Jail custody, her family is still waiting for answers.

"I think they poisoned her," said Chappell's sister, Ronesha Murrell. "They didn't care about her."

Chappell's mother filed the suit against several members of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, accusing the jail of, "systemic problems...regarding failures to provide proper and timely medical attention."

"She would stand up and then just kind of fall over. She wasn't really making any sense," said Patricia Perkins, who shared a cell with Chappell in the hours before her death. "I was like, 'hey she's not alright in here. She needs help.'"

According to the lawsuit, "Ta'Neasha repeatedly expressed to jail workers that she was vomiting blood. Those concerns were repeatedly ignored."

"She kept asking for help. She kept asking for the nurse. She was banging on the door and stuff, screaming and crying," said Perkins.

The suit also says, "The jail nurse accused Ta'Neasha of faking her illness", "the only thing provided was a Tylenol" and that "neither a medical doctor nor an ambulance responded for more than 23 hours."

"She had just like vomited and crapped on herself in the day room, and they just left her there until someone screamed and was like hey this girl needs help," said Perkins.

In Chappell's ER report from Schneck Medical Center, a doctor wrote about "concern the patient maybe ingested ethylene glycol or methanol," which is antifreeze or the major ingredient found in rubbing alcohol.

WDRB sent those records to nationally-known jail health expert Dr. Lipi Roy.

"She should have received medical attention, a higher level of care right away," said Roy. "It seems like there was unnecessary period of waiting, and truth be told, that could have saved her life."

Police arrested the 23-year-old in May after a chase related to a shoplifting case at the Edinburgh Outlet Mall.

Indiana State Police took over the investigation into Chappell's death and have not released any information. The jail won't release video and the Jackson County coroner hasn't publicly released a cause of death.

"She was still human. I don't care what she did," said Murrell. "She was human. She still deserves to be here."

Attorney Sam Aguiar, who represents Chappell's family said, said the filing of the lawsuit allows for progress toward critical discovery like video surveillance footage and jail records, which authorities haven't shared with her family.

"We are three months out from Ta’Neasha’s death and her family still has not even heard from the lead detective on the case, let alone be shown any video or see any of Ta’Neasha’s records," Aguiar said. "Thankfully, eyewitness accounts and medical records of Ta’Neasha have painted a picture for us that makes it extremely clear that Ta’Neasha, while fighting for her life, was ignored, criticized and made fun of by jail workers. This is the textbook definition of cruel and unusual punishment in violation of person’s civil rights."

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