[StBernard] FBI looking into death of St. Bernard jail inmate

[Westley Annis]

FBI looking into death of St. Bernard jail inmate
WOMAN, 19, FOUND UNRESPONSIVE APRIL 1 IN ST. BERNARD FACILITY

BY RICHARD THOMPSON
RTHOMPSON at THEADVOCATE.COM
May 01, 2014

Federal law enforcement authorities have taken over the investigation into
the death of a 19-year-old Chalmette woman who was found dead a month ago in
her cell at the St. Bernard Parish jail, parish and federal officials said
Thursday.

Nimali Henry was jailed for nearly two weeks following an arrest over a
domestic dispute. She died April 1 after she was found unresponsive on the
floor of her cell at about 8 a.m., not long after a shift change among jail
personnel, the Sheriff's Office said. Officials tried to revive her, but she
was pronounced dead a short time later.

Sheriff James Pohlmann said the FBI contacted his office this week
requesting information on the case.

"When that happens, we put a hold on our investigation and let theirs run
its course," he said. "Whatever they request, we're going to fully cooperate
with their investigation and turn over whatever records they need."

The Sheriff's Office had been conducting its own investigation, which was
still ongoing when the FBI stepped in, he said.

Pohlmann said he has yet to receive the full findings of an autopsy that was
conducted on Henry, and he declined to say whether he was aware of any
preliminary findings. He declined further comment.

Mary Beth Romig, an FBI spokeswoman in New Orleans, confirmed that the
agency has requested information from Pohlmann related to Henry's death. "We
are assessing the situation," she said, declining further comment.

Pohlmann, speaking with reporters the day after Henry died, said he was
unsure when a jail staffer had last passed by her cell before she was found
unresponsive. "It's a preliminary investigation at this point," he said at
the time. "We're currently gathering facts and conducting interviews. We'll
take a look at everything, from when she arrived at our facility up until
her death."

Friends said Henry had a health condition requiring medication, a claim that
Pohlmann has alluded to but not offered specifics about. At the time of her
death, he said it could take up to eight weeks to receive the results of
toxicology tests that were performed on Henry after she died.

The death was the first in the jail since April 2012, the Sheriff's Office
said.

Henry was arrested March 21 following reports of a disturbance involving her
and the father of her 4-month-old daughter at a home in the 1800 block of
Suzi Drive. She was booked with disturbing the peace, simple battery and
unauthorized entry, records show.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the reported disturbance and determined
through interviews that Henry had arrived at the house uninvited and started
demanding that she be allowed to see her daughter, according to an incident
report. Her child's father, Nicholas Conners, 18, was visiting there with a
woman, Chelsea Lefebvre, 18, who lived at the residence.

Conners told Henry that it wasn't a good time to see the girl, and when
Lefebvre tried to intervene, the two women got into a shoving match, the
report said. Conners eventually separated the two.

Henry's bail was set at $25,000, the Sheriff's Office said.

Follow Richard Thompson on Twitter @rthompsonMSY