Death of man who ‘baked to death’ in hot jail ruled accident
The death of a man who officials say “baked to death” while being held in a Rikers Island jail cell has been ruled accidental.
The mentally ill former Marine died in a jail cell that had a 101-degree temperature.
The city’s medical examiner determined Jerome Murdough, 56, died Feb. 15 of hyperthermia due to “environmental exposure to heat,” a spokeswoman said. Antipsychotic medication he was taking was a contributing factor.
Officials said Murdough “basically baked to death.”
Read more at New York Daily News
Murdough’s mother, Alma Murdough, filed the $25 million wrongfully death lawsuit earlier this year.
Murdough was found slumped at the foot of his bed with a pool of blood and vomit on the floor. He was being held on a misdemeanor trespassing charge, after being found in a public housing project hallway.
Murdough was believed to be seeking shelter from the harsh weather.
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