An inmate at the Leon County Detention Facility died in custody May 13, making him the second inmate to die at the jail within a week.
Benneth Nwangwu, 68, experienced a “medical emergency within his cell,” and staff immediately started life-saving measures until first responders arrived, according to a news release from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. He was pronounced dead around 7 a.m. and his next of kin was notified.
“No foul play is suspected,” LCSO said. “Standard protocols for an in-custody death are being followed. The Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.”
Nwangwu was rebooked into the jail April 17 to attend a mental health hearing May 11 at the Leon County Courthouse, according to court records. The hearing was scheduled after the Florida Department of Children and Families, which runs the Florida State Hospital where Nwangwu had been held, determined he no longer met the criteria that warranted his stay at the institution.
He has a history of arrests on charges varying from arson to indecent exposure to other offenses, Leon County court dockets show.
His death came after Christopher Asjes, 58, died last week in the jail’s hospice care program. Asjes is the second inmate to die in hospice care, according to reports. In September 2025, 72-year-old Richard Schwartz died; he was the first inmate in the Inmate Comfort Care Program, designed to “provide compassionate end-of-life care for terminally ill patients in custody.”
This story contains previously published reporting. Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County jail has second inmate death in a week
Reporting by Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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