Update: Kentucky State Police said Thursday morning that preliminary investigation revealed the subject had a 98% blockage in a main artery near his heart which caused his death.
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Preliminary investigation points toward Sunday’s death of a Daviess County Detention Center inmate being unrelated to an altercation that took place minutes earlier, according to the Kentucky State Police.
According to a release from DCDC, at approximately 6:50 a.m. Sunday jail deputies responded to an apparent physical altercation involving inmates in the general population housing unit C-106.
Upon arrival, they found Darrius M. Quarles, 22, unresponsive. On-site medical personnel were called to the scene and rendered aid including CPR and other life-sustaining measures until EMS arrived to take over, according to the release. Quarles was transported to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 7:38 a.m.
Kentucky State Police is leading the death investigation, and an autopsy will be performed Tuesday morning according to Trooper Corey King.
King said the exact cause of death is unknown, but said the jail’s surveillance footage indicates there could be a medical reason.
“There was an altercation. After the altercation (Quarles) was still standing there and just kind of collapsed on his own,” King said. “At this point it doesn’t seem like the death was a direct relation to the altercation. As of now, we just have it as a death investigation to find out what actually caused the collapse and the ultimate death.”
King said foul play is not suspected, but all options are open in the investigation while they wait for autopsy results.
Daviess County Jailer Art Maglinger said he doesn’t know what started the altercation but confirmed it was between inmates, with no staff being involved until they arrived to render aid.
Maglinger said Quarles had been at DCDC for 458 days, and that he was facing a first-degree robbery charge in Daviess County and felony charge in another county.
Maglinger expressed condolences to the family, saying “It was tragic all the way around. Hopefully the autopsy will give more closure to the family and the public.”
King said because KSP has to wait to get the official medical examiner’s report, it may be weeks before they know with certainty the cause of death. Maglinger said even though there are currently no indications of criminal activity, DCDC will also be conducting an administrative review to make sure no policies were broken.
