DeKalb County

Here’s how investigators find out what happened when inmates die in custody

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The man accused of going on a shooting spree across DeKalb County and killing three people earlier this month died while in custody on Tuesday night.

Olaolukitan Adon Abel was found unresponsive in his jail cell and pronounced dead about 30 minutes later.

Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes got an exclusive look at how investigators will try to figure out how he died.

She learned that when someone dies while incarcerated, their deaths are categorized differently, no matter the circumstances.

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“Inmates automatically, as a rule, get an examination," said Beoncia Loveless, the Director of the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office.

While she cannot comment on Abel’s specific case, she said that his exam will be different than other cases.

“We’ll do more extensive dissections than a typical autopsy, but they’re not the only individual who may get that type of exam,” she said.

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox says her office does not believe Abel’s death is suspicious.

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However, the medical examiner will make the final ruling, which could take days, weeks or months.

“If the individual is unresponsive at the jail and they can’t be revived and the code is called, then our investigators will respond to that institution the same way they’d respond to a scene,” Loveless explained. “Then, they do the exact same procedure, so they exam the body, they interview staff and they will usually interview the other inmates, if that’s warranted depending on the nature of that death.”

Fernandes spoke with the father of one of the victims, Prianna Weathers, after Abel’s death.

He said he never believed that he would get any answers from Abel and is not surprised that he died in jail.

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