CANTON ‒ A 33-year-old man found dead at the Stark County Jail in the spring died from natural causes, the Stark County Coroner’s Office said.
An autopsy conducted by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office found that Zachary M.C. Snoeberger died from multiple heart problems and chronic opioid dependency.
The heart problems were cardiac arrythmia — an irregular heartbeat — and mitral valve prolapse with severe right ventricular hypertrophy. Mitral valve prolapse affects the valve between the left heart chambers. Right ventricular hypertrophy is a thickening of the heart’s lower right chamber.
The Stark County Coroner’s Office contracts with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsies under a contract because the former does not have a pathologist.
Snoeberger, of Canton, had been found unresponsive in his cell at approximately 9:30 p.m. May 8, Connie Deibel, a spokeswoman for Stark County Sheriff Eric Weisburn, wrote in an email.
“Jail personnel immediately initiated life-saving measures,” she said. “The Canton Fire Department responded and transported the inmate to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.”
A spokeswoman for Snoeberger’s mother, Rebecca Prendergast, said she disputes the autopsy results.
Danni DePalmo of Canton wrote in a text message that Snoeberger died due to negligence. She wrote that his death could have been avoided if he had been placed on medicine used to treat opioid dependence.
DePalmo said Snoeberger’s death from cardiac arrythmia was caused by the administration of naloxone, which reverses the effects of opioid overdose.
“It caused his heart to go into overdrive,” DePalmo said. “Zach did have a pre-existing heart condition. He would have been perfectly fine living his life with that condition with treatment and medicine.”
Snoeberger had been booked into the jail May 7 on drug, failure to comply and obstructing official business charges.
The Repository has asked the Stark County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction for the reports of investigations into Snoeberger’s death but has not received them.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Autopsy finds Canton man died of natural causes at Stark County Jail
Reporting by Nancy Molnar, Canton Repository / The Repository
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