The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is looking into the Des. 1st, 2015 death of a female inmate at the Page County Jail. Officials say on November 19th, 2015, 25-year old Jessica Lee, of Council Bluffs, was arrested and booked into the Page County Jail for Possession of controlled substance (PCS), Possession of Paraphernalia, Providing False Information and Interference with Official Acts.

Jessica Lee

On the evening of December 1st, 2015, jailers at the Page County Jail found Lee unresponsive in her cell. Emergency personnel were called and provided medical aid.  She was transported to University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. Lee died Dec. 2nd at the UNMC.  An autopsy was performed at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny on December 3rd, 2015. The cause and manner of death was acute methamphetamine toxicity.  No foul play is suspected in this case.

As to how Lee was able to possess and ultimately overdose while in custody, it was discovered that hours before Lee was found unresponsive, she had placed a recorded call to someone outside the jail stating she was dying.  Lee admitted to the person she called that she had smuggled meth into the jail inside a body cavity. Neither Lee nor the person she called contacted anyone at the Page County Jail to notify them of Lee’s statements or condition.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office, Page County Attorney’s Office, Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner continue to investigate the case.