Pregnant woman who reportedly complained about stomach pains dies in Mississippi jail

A 37-year-old pregnant woman died in a jail in Mississippi while awaiting trial last week after reportedly complaining about having stomach pains.

Lanekia Michelle Brown’s family told local CBS affiliate WJTV that she was being held in a detention center for a trafficking of a controlled substance charge when she died over the weekend.

Margaret Johnson, Brown’s mother, told the local station that the trooper who informed her of her daughter’s death said that Brown had been complaining about stomach pains while in custody. 

{mosads}She claimed the trooper told her that a nurse had gone to check on Brown following her complaints but that she didn’t arrive in time.

“They did CPR on her over and over … still didn’t get no response … So he just said she was gone,” Johnson said. 

Johnson said her daughter, who left behind two children, never had any health issues but was nearly four weeks pregnant at the time of her death.

Shortly after learning of her daughter’s death, Johnson told the local station that she and her family drove to the hospital for more information about her death.

They were reportedly asked to return Wednesday for more information. They were not able to identify Brown’s body, according to the report.

Johnson told the CBS affiliate that she and other members of her family suspected “foul play.”

“I need to know what happened to her … where she at. They won’t tell me or give me no information. That’s my child. I love my child. … I want to know where my child is,” Johnson said.

“It’s very suspicious because like I said we talked to her and she was OK. If she had any kind of problems, she would have let us know,” another member of Brown’s family told the station.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations will reportedly be taking over the case and autopsy results are currently pending.