The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a 36-year-old Oakland woman who was found unresponsive in her cell at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. She died nine days later, after the jail had formally released her from custody while she was in a hospital.
Jessica Watson was booked into the jail at about 2:47 a.m. Oct. 10 after Hayward police arrested her on outstanding warrants for domestic violence and driving under the influence, the sheriff’s office said. During a welfare check at about 8:36 p.m. Oct. 13, deputies found her seated on a lower bunk and not responding. They entered the cell and saw what appeared to be a ligature around her neck. Deputies and jail medical staff began lifesaving efforts, and she was taken to a hospital with a pulse.
The next afternoon, Watson was released on her own recognizance, meaning she was freed without bail on a promise to appear in court, while she remained hospitalized. She died Oct. 22. The sheriff’s office announced the death the next day and said the cause will be determined after an autopsy and toxicology testing. It reported the death to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and the state attorney general.
The timing of a release matters because of how jail deaths are tracked. State law requires an agency to report to the attorney general within 10 days whenever someone dies in its custody. State jail rules also require a copy of that report to go to the Board of State and Community Corrections and an initial review of the death within 30 days. KTVU has reported that the sheriff’s office has in past cases declined to count deaths that followed a release from custody. In Watson’s case, the office treated the death as custody-related and filed the report.
That distinction surfaced again this week. KTVU reported Tuesday that Antoine Emel Dewhitt, 40, of Oakland, died May 9 after a medical emergency at Santa Rita in mid-April. He had been held less than a day on a probation violation before going to a hospital, where the jail released him. His death was not in the sheriff’s public count until his sister came forward after learning of Watson’s death. Sgt. Roberto Morales told the station the omission was an oversight and that the office now counts five in-custody deaths at the jail in 2026.
The other three were Kenyonna Farr, who died March 13; Brandon Watson, who died May 31; and Jeffrey McMaster, who died June 6. KTVU, which tracks deaths at the jail, counts 80 since 2014.
Santa Rita, on Broder Boulevard next to the Camp Parks military training area, is rated to hold about 3,500 people. Since 2022 it has operated under a federal consent decree in the class-action case Babu v. County of Alameda. The court-approved settlement requires better mental health care and staffing and is monitored by court-appointed experts. An attorney for the incarcerated plaintiffs told KTVU her firm is working with those experts to learn how Watson’s death happened.
The sheriff’s office emphasized that deputies entered Watson’s cell as soon as she failed to respond. KTVU noted the contrast with the 2021 death of Maurice Monk, who lay dead in his cell for days before staff noticed. That case led to a $7 million county settlement with his family and changes to jail policy.
The official cause of Watson’s death awaits the autopsy and toxicology results. Anyone in crisis can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
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