57-year-old female inmate dies in Tarrant County jail custody
FORT WORTH, Texas - A 57-year-old woman is the latest to die in Tarrant County jail custody.
April 19 Tarrant County In-Custody Death
What we know:
Lizza Elizabeth Gadlin died on Saturday at John Peter Smith Hospital.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said she’d been in custody since being arrested on theft charges by DFW Airport police on April 15.
She was evaluated by medical staff when she was booked into jail and later transferred to the hospital for treatment.
Her history indicated long-time drug use and chronic health conditions, officials said.
What we don't know:
The sheriff’s office did not release any details about why Gadlin was taken to the hospital.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine her exact cause of death.
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Tarrant County Jail Deaths
The backstory:
The jail has come under scrutiny for the nearly 70 in-custody deaths since Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office in 2017.
There have been two in-custody deaths so far in 2025 and two deaths in December.
36-year-old Charles Stephen Johnson died while in custody on Feb. 8. The sheriff’s office said he died at John Peter Smith Hospital following complications from an attempted suicide.
Another 56-year-old inmate died on Feb. 18 after also being taken to the hospital for medical care.
Mason Yancy died on Dec. 27, four days after Grapevine police arrested him on drug charges. The sheriff’s office said the 31-year-old disclosed a long history of medical issues when he was booked into the jail. Then he died after a medical emergency, despite life-saving efforts.
On Dec. 2, a 51-year-old man died after telling jail staff he was not feeling well. He was examined at the jail and taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he died.
Anthony Johnson Jr.’s Death
VIDEO: Jailer kneels on Tarrant County inmate
31-year-old Anthony Ray Johnson died on April 21 following a struggle with corrections officers at the Tarrant County Jail. Two jailers were fired on Thursday because of the incident.
The backstory:
The case that caused the most controversy last year was inmate Anthony Ray Johnson Jr.’s death in June. He died following a struggle with jailers that was captured on video.
The two jailers involved were charged with murder after Johnson’s death was ruled a homicide.
The Source: The information in this story comes from a news release from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and past news coverage.