Another Spartanburg inmate has died in string of recent jail deaths (2024)

SPARTANBURG — A Spartanburg County Detention Center inmate has died in what has become a string of deaths inside the facility in the past four months.

Casey Michelle Tate, 33, died at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center Jan. 31 at 3:55 a.m., Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said in an email. Tate was being held at the Spartanburg County Detention Center, which is run by the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.

Tate was being treated at the hospital for a “number of natural processes,” Clevenger said. The death investigation doesn't show foul play, but he said he's awaiting further testing before a final cause of death is released.

"We don’t have any comment while the Coroner’s Office still has an active investigation," said Lt. Kevin Bobo, spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office.

The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating Tate’s death, SLED spokesperson Renée Wunderlich said.

Tate’s death marks the fourth inmate death since October in the facility. Three people died within the span of one month in October and November 2022.

A recent investigation by SLED found “no criminal acts” in the death of John Edward Miller, who died Oct. 28, 2022, six days after suffering cardiac arrest at the facility.

But documents received two weeks ago through a public records request by The Post and Courier revealed that Miller didn't receive medical attention for at least 20 minutes after a deputy saw him collapse in his cell.

The Sheriff's Office has declined to comment on that case citing "potential pending litigation."

In a separate incident, Lavell Najah Lane was arrested, charged with “pedestrian in the roadway” and taken to the facility. He was held there for about six hours before a deputy found him unresponsive in his cell, according to a report of inmate death filed with the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

According to a Dec. 21, 2022 media statement from Clevenger, Lane’s official cause of death was neuroleptic malignant syndrome, which is a disorder most often caused by an adverse reaction to antipsychotic medications.

On Nov. 1, 2022, Ronald Edward Watkins died at the facility. Clevenger said in the media statement that his cause of death was a blood clot in an artery related to cardiovascular disease. Other “significant conditions” included obesity, hypertension and alcohol use.

As of Jan. 23, SLED was still investigating the deaths of Lane and Watkins.