A woman was found unresponsive in her cell at the Cobb County jail on Saturday, the fifth in-custody death at the facility this year, officials said.
Deputies performed CPR on Clara Palmer before she was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 9:17 p.m., according to a news release. The 39-year-old’s cause and manner of death have not been determined, but Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens encouraged people to seek mental health support in a statement announcing Palmer’s death.
Palmer was arrested Dec. 11 by Marietta police on drugs, guns and theft charges, online jail records show.
It’s the first Cobb jail death since Horace Gibbs, 63, was found unresponsive after being strangled by his cellmate in October. Gibbs was a Fulton County inmate being held at the Cobb jail. Ernest Johnson, also a Fulton inmate, was charged with murder and aggravated assault strangulation.
The men were at the Cobb jail because the Fulton sheriff’s office outsources inmates to Cobb, Oconee County and the Atlanta City Detention Center.
In July, Brian Winnie, 62, died due to “a recurring, serious health challenge,” according to the sheriff’s office. Winnie had been arrested in December 2023 on felony theft charges and was routinely transported to the hospital for treatment while in custody. He was admitted to Wellstar Cobb Hospital just days before his death.
Another detainee died due to health issues in April. According to the sheriff’s office, Steve Johnson died at the hospital from advanced lung cancer he’d been suffering with before his arrest. His condition was discovered during a routine medical screening after he was booked into the detention center.
He was held in custody due to his sex offender status and was “routinely” taken to the hospital for cancer treatments, the sheriff’s office said.
In March, Robert Spates died at the Cobb jail. He was in jail on a charge of aggravated stalking.
As of November, the jail was at 70.7% capacity with around 2,168 inmates, according to data reported to the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association. The jail’s capacity is 3,067 inmates.
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