The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) has officially released the autopsy results for 28-year-old Khaira Howard, the first of four inmates to recently die at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
According to the University of Michigan autopsy report, Howard's cause of death was a pulmonary thromboembolism, a blood clot in her lungs, resulting from a lower extremity deep vein thrombosis.
She died on May 13, 2026, just days before her scheduled release from custody.
She was admitted to the prison infirmary a week before her death due to complaints of foot pain and used a wheelchair.
Howard became unresponsive in the infirmary after reporting symptoms of chest pain and feeling overheated.
Her oxygen saturation levels dropped into the 70s, and despite advanced cardiac life support protocols initiated by responding emergency medical services, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Obesity was also noted as a significant condition contributing to her death. Her final manner of death was officially classified as natural.
Tim Holland of Fall Law, the attorney representing Howard's family, stated that the medical findings lead him to believe her death was entirely preventable.
"It's looking more and more like there was ample opportunity to prevent this death and it just didn't," Holland says.
Furthermore, Howard's family contends she was a victim of severe medical neglect. The family believes prison medical staff neglected Howard's medical needs in retaliation for her prior complaints regarding the living conditions inside the prison.
"... what it looks like to the family is the guards and staff didn't like her because she was complaining about the black mold," Holland said. "She was complaining about the conditions, and she was complaining about having to clean black mold... the family thinks that as a result of that, retaliation occurred. Which prevented her from getting needed medical care."
Howard's death is the first in a succession of four recent incarcerated women deaths at the Women’s Huron Valley facility. This string of deaths has sparked intense public scrutiny and lawsuits about the quality of medical care and overall living conditions under the state's supervision.
In a press release, the MDOC says it takes the safety and security of those under its supervision very seriously. The department also says it remains committed to transparency while investigations continue into the other recent deaths.
