Inmate waiting weeks for mental health transfer dies from neglect, Illinois suit says
A mother held in jail on a misdemeanor charge was not fit for trial, an Illinois judge ordered, and was set to be transferred to a mental health facility for treatment, a 2023 lawsuit said.
But 54 days later, the woman was still sitting in a DuPage County cell and her health was in jeopardy, the complaint said.
On June 3, 2023, Reneyda Aguilar-Hurtado appeared dehydrated and malnourished, according to the lawsuit, so her daughter asked staff to give her water. According to court documents, staff refused.
Aguilar-Hurtado, 50, was found sitting in pools of her own vomit and feces in the coming days, but jail staff never took action, even when she stopped eating and drinking, according to the lawsuit. On June 12, 2023, she was pronounced dead.
The woman’s family sued DuPage County, county Sheriff James Mendrick and members of the county jail staff shortly after her death. Now, the parties have agreed upon a settlement, according to court filings.
The county has agreed to pay the family $11 million, according to court documents filed on Feb. 12. A March 5 filing from the family’s attorney said “minor terms” of the agreement are being finalized.
“Reneyda’s tragic death never should have happened,” Michael Mead, an attorney for the family, told the Chicago Tribune in a statement. “It was preventable and the loss that her family experienced cannot be made whole. We hope that the settlement provides justice and some closure for her family.”
The attorney representing the county declined to comment on the settlement to McClatchy News as the settlement was not finalized as of March 10.
The lawsuit filed just over one month after Aguilar-Hurtado’s death said she was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge on March 19, 2023, and was deemed unfit to plead or stand trial due to her schizophrenia.
The judge ordered the woman, who was in a jail in Wheaton, to be transferred to a state-run mental health facility for treatment. The lawsuit said the county and sheriff, who oversees the jail, knew about this. However, the woman never went to the treatment facility.
She spent 85 days in jail, according to the lawsuit.
By June 3, she had “cracked lips, shaking hands, sunken eyes and cheeks, fatigue, difficulty speaking and weight loss,” according to the lawsuit.
Complaints from the inmate’s daughter were ignored, the complaint said, and Aguilar-Hurtado’s health worsened.
Six days later, she was seen by jail staff sitting in her own vomit and had been seen throwing up blood, according to court documents. She was placed on a 15-minute medical watch.
By June 9, she could no longer walk on her own, according to the lawsuit. The day before her death, she struggled to eat and drink.
The wrongful death lawsuit accuses the county of denying Aguilar-Hurtado medical care and failing to intervene with her health.
The news of the settlement comes just days after Mendrick announced his run for Illinois governor.
Wheaton is about a 30-mile drive west from downtown Chicago.
This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Inmate waiting weeks for mental health transfer dies from neglect, Illinois suit says."
