SUMTER, S.C. — New autopsy results are revealing the cause of death of a young woman who died at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center last August.
News19 first reported that 26-year-old Hosanna Dinkins was being held in a jail cell without criminal charges for weeks while awaiting mental health treatment for schizophrenia and depression.
"She was happy. That was a happy child. We ain't never had no trouble with her," Hosea Dinkins said about his daughter. "She had loved the Lord. She told the Lord she would serve the Lord."
This is a sentiment echoed by Isaac Holloman, the pastor at Prophetic Word Church.
"Hosanna, she was very faithful and loyal and dedicated," Holloman said of Hosanna. "She was a loving, caring, sharing person."
But after law enforcement said she was found dead in her jail cell, Dinkins' family is grieving.
"January the 23rd she would have been turning 27 years old," Hosanna's sister, Barbara Simien, said. "And it does hurt. I hurt every day about that."
Sumter Coroner Robbie Baker performed a preliminary autopsy, which he said showed she died of blood clots and dehydration.
"In layman's terms, basically what it was, because of the dehydration, it caused an ulcer in her small intestines," Baker said. "It could have been days where she wasn't drinking anything, obviously, but she was definitely dehydrated."
Now, attorney and legislator Marvin Pendarvis represents the Dinkins family as they search for answers.
"Over the course of 21 days while she was housed here in the Sumter County Detention Center, she had lost over 60 pounds," Pendarvis said. "One, Hosanna should not have been in this detention center. And two, she should not have died. And so there's a lot of things that went wrong along the way. And part of this litigation process will be trying to uncover what happened, how it happened, why it happened, and to make sure we get justice for the Dinkins family."
Benita Robinson said her cousin Hosanna was in jail on an order from a probate judge because there was not a bed available at a treatment facility.
"He's not an expert," Robinson said regarding Hosanna's father, who went to the court system for help. "We're not experts in trying to figure out what's wrong with our children. So we look to the experts to do this."
Because there was no space in state mental health facilities, Dinkins said his daughter awaited an available bed in jail.
"I want justice ‘cuz, I mean, that was wrong," Dinkins said.
"I will continue to call on my colleagues in the General Assembly to do something about it, to fund it, to make sure that people who are not charged and are suffering from mental illness do not end up in these detention centers," Pendarvis said. "There's no reason for Hosanna to have been here. And while she was here, they had a duty and an obligation to ensure she was cared for. And because they failed in that, they're responsible for her death. And it's something that this family and I will pursue to make sure that justice is served."
News19 contacted the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, which helps run the jail, to find out its protocol to ensure people in jail receive food and water. We asked about whether inmates' eating or drinking is monitored and were told the department "will be making no other comments regarding the death of Dinkins."
The department's spokesperson said it will "not engage in any other media inquiries."
News19 contacted the South Carolina Department of Mental Health and found that the department's inpatient psychiatric civil beds are at capacity. As of Thursday, the department said it's aware of three people being held in jails without charges waiting for psychiatric beds.