The Michigan Department of Corrections on Friday released the autopsy report for one of the four women who died within a two-month span while incarcerated at the state’s only women’s prison this year.
According to the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner, 36-year-old Ashley Hoath died by suicide from an aspirin overdose on June 6. Hoath's death happened in the emergency department at Trinity Health Hospital in Ann Arbor several hours after she was transferred from the medical unit at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
Hoath was the third of four women inmates who died between May 13 and July 2, and the deaths have stoked questions and anger about conditions inside the prison, including allegations of black mold exposure.
Tina Stoll, who was incarcerated at the Huron Valley facility alongside Hoath, noted that there were clear warning signs before Hoath's death.
"People saying, look, she's talking different. She's talking like she's saying goodbye and thanking people for being there for her," Stoll said.
The Corrections Department has pledged to publish the findings of investigations into the four recent deaths at the Huron Valley prison.
Hoath's death was preceded by that of Khaira Howard, 28, who was found to have died of a blood clot in her lung, and Rebecca Flackler, 57, whose autopsy report has not yet been released.
The cause of death for Dalephenia Jones, 62, who died less than four weeks after Hoath, is also still under investigation.
In regards to Hoath's death, Corrections Department officials said the agency's Bureau of Health Care Services provides comprehensive mental health treatments and services to all incarcerated people. In a press release, the department said those services include "crisis intervention, segregation monitoring, suicide prevention services, assessment, identification and referral for treatment and more."
MDOC has said third-party environmental testing conducted in 2022 and 2026 found that mold within the prison facility was "within normal range".
