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Illinois Jail Prisoner Dies from Dental Infection
A 25-year-old prisoner at the Peoria County Jail died from an infection in his gums that spread throughout his body, causing multiple-organ failure.
Jeremy L. Baksai had been in the Peoria jail since November 2006, awaiting an April 30, 2007 trial on robbery charges. He was physically fit but suffered from chronic diseased teeth and gums. The young father of two had been suffering from a sore throat and fever for over a week.
As his symptoms worsened he was moved to the jail?s medical unit and given antibiotics. On March 20, 2007 he was found motionless in his cell.
Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
?They should have helped him more and my brother would still be alive,? lamented his sister, Annamaria Barrett. Culture tests were ordered to determine the precise infection that killed Baksai.
Prisoners who suffer from serious dental infections should seek immediate attention; ongoing dental infections can also lead to cardiovascular disease.
Three other prisoners have died at the Peoria County Jail in the past year ? Bruce B. Nicholson, 36, hanged himself with bed sheets on July 5, 2006; Dennis P. Lane, 35, died in a holding cell on Sept. 30, 2006 after swallowing eight small bags of cocaine; and 47-year-old Merrel Kern had a fatal heart attack on March 28, 2007.
Sources: Peoria Journal Star, WYZZ-TV
Jeremy L. Baksai had been in the Peoria jail since November 2006, awaiting an April 30, 2007 trial on robbery charges. He was physically fit but suffered from chronic diseased teeth and gums. The young father of two had been suffering from a sore throat and fever for over a week.
As his symptoms worsened he was moved to the jail?s medical unit and given antibiotics. On March 20, 2007 he was found motionless in his cell.
Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
?They should have helped him more and my brother would still be alive,? lamented his sister, Annamaria Barrett. Culture tests were ordered to determine the precise infection that killed Baksai.
Prisoners who suffer from serious dental infections should seek immediate attention; ongoing dental infections can also lead to cardiovascular disease.
Three other prisoners have died at the Peoria County Jail in the past year ? Bruce B. Nicholson, 36, hanged himself with bed sheets on July 5, 2006; Dennis P. Lane, 35, died in a holding cell on Sept. 30, 2006 after swallowing eight small bags of cocaine; and 47-year-old Merrel Kern had a fatal heart attack on March 28, 2007.
Sources: Peoria Journal Star, WYZZ-TV
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