Initial autopsy results were inconclusive in the case of the Mount Vernon mother who died in police custody, authorities said Wednesday.
Raynette Turner, 42, was found dead in a Mount Vernon police holding cell Monday, two days after she was arrested on shoplifting charges.
Turner’s initial autopsy was completed Tuesday but more testing is needed to determine her cause of death, officials said.
“We’re awaiting toxicology and microbiology which could take a number of weeks,” said Lucian Chalfen, spokesman for the Westchester County District Attorney. “Until those results come in, the (autopsy) report is incomplete.”
Authorities said Turner, a mother of eight, was arrested Saturday for allegedly swiping crab’s legs from a Restaurant Depot wholesale food store.
She was kept in a holding cell through the weekend awaiting a Monday arraignment.
Turner — who had a history of hypertension and underwent weight loss surgery last year — was taken to Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital Sunday night after telling cops she didn’t feel well.
She was returned to her cell about 2 1/2 hours later, said Mount Vernon Deputy Commissioner Richard Burke.
But when cops checked her cell Monday afternoon, she was found unresponsive.
Turner — whose children range in age from 8 to 21 — was pronounced dead at 2 p.m.
Turner’s husband Herman had sat in court all day Monday until about 4 p.m. waiting for his wife’s arraignment.
Source: New York Daily News |
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