Officials at the Silverdale Detention Center were mum Thursday about the death of a female inmate who allegedly was attacked days ago inside the lockup.
On Thursday, a news release from Hamilton County District Attorney General Neil Pinkston's office said he had asked Sheriff Jim Hammond to investigate the death of Madison Bailee Deal, of Chattanooga, who died early Thursday morning at Erlanger.
Deal, 26, was arrested Aug. 10 on a charge of violating probation in a February misdemeanor theft case, according to jail records.
Pinkston's spokeswoman, Melydia Clewell, said Deal "had no known pre-existing medical conditions."
A family friend who asked not to be identified said the family was told Deal was "jumped and beat up" by other women in Silverdale several days before she was taken to Erlanger hospital.
Neither the Silverdale warden nor officials with Corrections Corporation of America, which operates the county-owned workhouse, responded to questions Thursday.